BBSR 2001 Annual Report - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

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EvaluatingBermuda’sNo-take Zones2001 marked BBSR’s 99 th year of investigating Bermuda's ocean,making it one of the most thoroughly studied marine environmentsin the world. Building on the foundation laid by generations ofscientists since BBSR's founding in 1903, BBSR’s present facultymembers are working together to examine a range of importantissues for Bermuda's environment.For example, Dr. Kent Simmonsfocuses on Bermuda’s air and waterquality. Dr. Richard Owen studiesmarine pollution threats (see page 6).Dr. Samia Sarkis leads an effort tobring back Bermuda’s endangeredscallop population. And Dr. KathyCoates examines Bermuda’s marinebiological diversity.Postdoctoral fellow Dr. ShanePaterson, a new addition to BBSR in2001, describes here a collaborativeeffort with BBSR Assistant ResearchScientist Dr. Robbie Smith, who leadsBBSR’s coral reef research team, andpostdoctoral fellow Dr. Joanna Pitt.ANEW BBSR PROJECT, funded byThe Pew Charitable Trusts andthe Curtis and Edith MunsonFoundation, assesses the impact ofefforts to protect Bermuda’s coral reeffisheries resources. Because of the datacollected over close to a century atBBSR, and because of Bermuda’shistory of environmental protection,this case study may prove to be avaluable model for other island nationsstruggling with declining fisheries.Bermuda’s long history ofenvironmental protection dates back tothe remarkably prescient 1620protection of young sea turtles. A littlemore recently, beginning in the 1970s,Bermuda’s government began toaddress concerns regarding the declineof its fisheries resources and createdthree seasonally protected and 29permanently protected fisheriesreserves, or no-take zones, withinwhich extractive activity is notpermitted. In 1990, the governmenttook the further step of banningcommercial fish traps, a controversialmove that has since been adopted bysome Caribbean nations.Bermuda’s fisheries resources havehad a history of overexploitation –perhaps not as catastrophic and suddenas that faced by many other nations,but overfishing, nonetheless. Divers onBermuda’s reefs are unlikely to seemuch in the way of predatory fishes.The Nassau grouper, a predator of greatecological and fisheries importance, iscommercially extinct in Bermudianwaters. This scarcity of predatory fishesis often an indicator that all is not well,
if only because predators are preferentially targeted byfishermen and are typically the first removed by overfishing.With the abolition of fish traps and a generally greaterawareness of the consequences of overfishing, Bermuda’s reeffisheries now have a good chance of slowly restoringthemselves.The central goal of BBSR’s study of Bermudian no-takezones is to determine the effectiveness of existing reserves,with a secondary goal of making recommendations that mightenhance such reserves. Such improvements, if any arenecessary, might include changes inthe delineation of current no-takezones or perhaps more subtle shifts intheir management. Bermuda’ssituation provides us an opportunityto examine effectiveness of no-takezones both on the basis of their sizeand their age. For example, we mightexpect to see greater abundance,biomass and diversity of fishes inolder no-take zones than in newerones and in larger no-take zones thanin smaller ones.Siting and sizing of these marineprotected areas (MPAs) is far from astraightforward process. The 19 newno-take zones around Bermuda aresmall, located around the outer rim of Bermuda’s reef platform,and designed primarily to encompass popular dive sites.Almost all are centered around shipwrecks. Whether theseunits of Bermuda’s no-take network are really effective inpreserving, replenishing and exporting stocks of reef fishes arequestions BBSR scientists are addressing. Do they protecthabitats inappropriate to the network’s stated goals of buildingand sustaining healthy reef-fish stocks? Are the sites in greatestneed of protection those at which diving is infrequent and forwhich protection has therefore not been considered? Are theno-take zones too small?Our overall design focuses on comparing survey siteswithin no-take zones with those outside the no-take zones buton otherwise similar areas of reef in the same general location.With the abolition of fishtraps and a generally greaterawareness of the consequencesof overfishing, Bermuda's reeffisheries now have a goodchance of slowly restoringthemselves.In 2001, our effort was channeled mainly toward surveyingsites selected from among the ten original no-take zones andtheir adjacent control sites. In 2002, we will begin adding thenew reserves, now two years old.The two years over which BBSR’s MPA project currentlyruns will yield essential data and give us an idea of what ishappening within, among and outside Bermuda’s fisheriesreserves. Ultimately, though, this study is not a quick and easyone. It may take many years for overfished areas of theBermuda reef platform to show obvious signs of recovery. It iscritical that monitoring continuesover years and decades once thecurrent baseline has beenestablished. Such a database is aninvaluable tool to local fisheriesmanagers; in fact, monitoring is oneof the most important components inmanaging marine parks.The results of the study are notconfined to merely laying thisbaseline for future work, nor evensolely to informing policy withinBermuda that could have real andbeneficial repercussions for thecountry’s marine resources. Theimplementation of this surveyprogram has also laid thegroundwork for expanding BBSR’s participation in reef fishecology and fisheries-related research worldwide. Naturalextensions of this program will include a project that focuseson assessing and bolstering Bermuda’s threatened grouperfisheries resources.Further, studies conducted in Bermuda have the potentialto benefit other countries that may be quite disparate and farflung,just as work conducted in the Philippines, on the GreatBarrier Reef and elsewhere has contributed to the backgroundagainst which this project was conceived and has evolved. Thiscentral fact handily illustrates the profound interdependenceof the world’s natural and human communities, which itselfmirrors the connectivity that makes coral reefs suchremarkable systems.Top left: The spotfin butterfly fish (top), hog fish (center left) and queen parrot fish (center right) are vital parts of Bermuda’s fragilereef ecosystem. The predatory black grouper (bottom) is now a rare sight on Bermuda’s reefs.Center left: A map of the Bermuda platform showing Bermuda’s marine protected areas and BBSR’s study sites (from a mapproduced by the Bermuda Government)Lower left: Postdoctoral fellows Joanna Pitt (left) and Shane Paterson (center), and Assistant Research Scientist Dr. Robbie Smithdiscuss reef monitoring sites in the Benthic Ecology Research Program lab.5
Page 1 and 2: The Bermuda Biological Station for
Page 3 and 4: Table of ContentsFrom the Helm: Par
Page 5: scientific, educational and financi
Page 9 and 10: show widespread contamination. Prev
Page 11 and 12: access to organisms with novel gene
Page 13 and 14: importance, since both El Niño and
Page 15 and 16: desirability and potential developm
Page 17 and 18: three decades, this program has pro
Page 19 and 20: Honor Roll of DonorsThe Associates
Page 21 and 22: Honor Roll of DonorsThe Associates
Page 23 and 24: Honor Roll of DonorsThe Corporate I
Page 25 and 26: Financial OverviewOPERATING REVENUE
Page 27 and 28: BALANCE SHEETDECEMBER 31, 2001(with
Page 29 and 30: STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWSYEAR ENDED D
Page 31 and 32: NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTI
Page 33 and 34: NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTI
Page 35 and 36: Research Programs ContinuedInteract
Page 37 and 38: PublicationsThe following journal a
Page 39 and 40: Summer CoursesBiology of FishesDr.
Page 41 and 42: Board of TrusteesUnited StatesMicha
Page 44 and 45: Bermuda Biological Stationfor Resea
Page 46 and 47: The Corporate Investors Program (bu

BBSR 2001 Annual Report - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

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