Expedition discovers marine treasures; New species of fish, seaweeds found on Caribbean's Saba Bank
Underwatertimes.com News Service February 14, 18:58 EST Scientists have discovered more than a dozen new species of fish and seaweed SABA ISLAND, Netherlands Antilles
-- An underwater mountain that forms the world's third-largest atoll
has some of the richest diversity of marine life ever found in the
Caribbean, according to scientists who recently explored the area.
The two-week expedition in January encountered
new species of fish, seaweed and other ocean life at little-studied
Saba Bank Atoll, a coral-crowned seamount 250 kilometers southeast of
Puerto Rico in the Dutch Windward Islands. In a series of dives buffeted by high winds and strong currents, scientists from Conservation International (CI), the Netherlands Antilles government and Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History
found scores more fish species than previously known in the region and
vast beds of diverse seaweed, including a dozen or more possible new
species.
"We discovered a new species literally every
day we were there," said Michael Smith, director of CI's Caribbean
Biodiversity Initiative. Among the apparent new fish species found were two types of gobi, while the total number of fish species recorded reached 200, compared to fewer than 50 before the expedition.
The unprecedented richness of marine life and
vulnerable status of the atoll's coral beds make Saba Bank a prime
candidate for designation as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA)
under the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Mark Littler, marine botanist of the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, declared
Saba Bank the richest area for seaweeds in the Caribbean basin,
including as many as a dozen new species along with commercially
valuable species that will facilitate the creation of economic activity
zones under PSSA designation.
Paul Hoetjes, marine biologist with the
Ministry of Nature Affairs for the Netherlands Antilles (MINA), called
the expedition crucial to getting the area protected to benefit local
populations.
"The community of about 1,500 people on nearby
Saba Island derives a large part of its economy from the atoll, and the
atoll is being damaged," Hoetjes said.
A petroleum trans-shipment depot on neighboring St. Eustatius Island causes significant marine traffic, including oil supertankers in the area around the submerged atoll. The fragile ecosystems of Saba Bank get damaged by anchors and chains of ships that wait at
the atoll to avoid anchoring fees in territorial waters of St.
Eustatius.
The large ships also endanger local fishermen
of Saba in their small boats, forcing them away from traditional
fishing grounds and causing the loss of fish pots that become so-called
''ghost traps" that harm fish stocks.
Leroy Peterson, a Saba fisherman, called the expedition crucial for protecting Saba Bank's unique marine life.
Some of the scientists actually found new
species not located anywhere else," Peterson said. "There should be
no-anchor zones. For things to survive there must be stricter controls." |
