You are here: Home › Ecosystems › National Marine Sanctuaries › Tortugas Cruise 2007 › Day 7
Dry Tortugas Cruise Day 7 - August 31, 2007
to head to a dive site.
Photo credit: S. Viehman
We have had a successful trip despite reduced days at sea because of unanticipated ship repairs. We were fortunate to have calm seas and an enthusiastic, hard-working group of scientists and ship’s crew.
Most of our final day was spent in an eight hour transit back to Key West from the Dry Tortugas. We unloaded all of our considerable scientific gear from the ship and began a 20 hour drive back to CCFHR in Beaufort, NC. We will analyze the data from the reef fish surveys, benthic habitat surveys, beam trawls, and acoustic benthic habitat classification to gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the six years since it was established. Among the goals of the Reserve are protecting ecosystem structure, function, and integrity, improving non–consumptive opportunities, improving fishery yields, and increasing knowledge and understanding of marine systems.
 Red grouper. Photo: K. Foley |
 Black coral. Photo: S. Viehman |
 Reef sponges. Photo: S. Viehman |
 Unusual reef structure with many
small fish. Photo: S. Viehman |