Thursday, 12 November 2009: 4:35 PM
Seasonal influx of river water from both the Amazonas (Brazil) and the Orinoco (Venezuela) rivers into the northeastern Caribbean Sea has been reported in the scientific literature. The presence of green or dirty water, as it is known to fishers, is common knowledge among the recreational and commercial fishers but it is not documented. The impacts to the fisheries and the marine resources of the area are not known except for anecdotal information that states that when there is dirty water there is little fishing.' This year the presence of green water was an extraordinary event that peaked during April 2009. Similar events had been seen before but never as intense as this year (W. Leedee, commercial lobster fisherman, St. Thomas, personal communication). We documented the event from the information provided by the marine resource users, in situ data from NOAA's R/V Nancy Foster and Oregon II for chlorophyll (continuous flow-through seawater and casts profiles CTD), satellite imagery (MODIS, MERIS) for chlorophyll and K490, and from the literature (including the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) listserver, http://GCFI.org). The in situ measurements were compared to the satellite-derived data along the ships' tracks and, when available, to satellite observations from a time series at spawning aggregation sites. The impacts that this, and other similar events could have on the fisheries and other marine resources (including coral reefs and marine recreation) are discussed.
ADDRESS, E-MAIL AND TELEPHONE NUMBER OF CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Graciela García-Moliner
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
268 Muñoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-1920
787-766-5926
graciela_cfmc@yahoo.com
Presentation Type: Oral
TECHNICAL AREA: Remote Sensing
AFFILIATION: STUDENT (Graduate)
CENTER AFFILIATION: NCAS
ARE YOU APPLYING FOR A STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD: NO
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