HBOI | Press Relations | LEADING RESEARCHERS MEET TO DISCUSS PROTECTION OF OCULINA BANKS

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LEADING RESEARCHERS MEET TO DISCUSS PROTECTION OF A NATIONAL MARINE TREASURE

Ft. Pierce, Fla.--On Wednesday, July 30, 2003, scientists will gather at HARBOR BRANCH to map plans for research and other efforts aimed at protecting Florida's Oculina Banks deepwater coral reefs. Leading researchers who have studied this unique resource will be taking part from HARBOR BRANCH, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Florida State University, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Marine Research Institute and Oregon State University.

Workshop sessions will cover such topics as:

• The current status of the Oculina protected area and the proposed electronic vessel monitoring system to be used on shrimp trawlers working near it

• Research results from the most recent expedition to the Oculina Banks

• An upcoming report for the International Coral Reef Initiative, established to reverse the global degradation of coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world, to be presented at a meeting in October

• Future research needs at the Oculina Banks, with the goal of creating a ranked list of priorities for the next ten years

• New outreach programs to educate the public about the importance of protecting the Oculina Banks

The Oculina Banks reefs are found in 200 to 350 feet of water and stretch about 25 miles offshore from Ft. Pierce north to Daytona Beach along the edge of the continental shelf. Little sunlight can reach the reefs, but their biodiversity nonetheless rivals that of shallow Caribbean reefs in part because the Gulf Stream delivers nutrients and the larvae of countless animal species. The reefs provide vital habitat for a number of commercially important fish species such as snapper, grouper, and rock shrimp, but have been decimated in places by fishing activity.

Research by HARBOR BRANCH in the '70s showed these reefs to be unlike any others on earth, but there was concern over plans to fish the fragile structures using roller trawlers. Based on this information, and after years of lobbying by HARBOR BRANCH scientist John Reed, a portion of the banks was closed to trawling and designated a Habitat Area of Particular Concern in 1984. This area was then expanded in 2000.

Last month, Oculina researchers presented written testimony to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which sets fishery regulations for the region, on results of research conducted at the Oculina Banks in May of this year and past work. Largely based on the critical needs for further protection that this information highlights, the council voted unanimously to continue existing fishing and trawling restrictions in the area, which had been set to expire in 2004.

Journalists who would like to attend a portion of the workshop, arrange for interviews, or request photos or footage of the Oculina Banks should contact Mark Schrope at 772-465-2400 ext. 433 or schrope@hboi.edu.

For more information about the Oculina Banks and a recent expedition there, please go to: http://www.hboi.edu/news/features/oculina.html and http://oceanica.cofc.edu/oculina2003

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HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution, Inc., is one of the world's leading nonprofit oceanographic research organizations dedicated to exploration of the earth's oceans, estuaries and coastal regions for the benefit of humankind.