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Day 9: 4.28.06
Gear Impacts at Lulu Bay
fish in hull of boat.
Haitian fishermen navigate the 35 mile crossing to Navassa Island in wooden plank vessels. The vessels are up to 17 ft in length. They power their boats with a combination of sails, oars, and small (~15 hp) motors.
The boats have been observed to hold from 3–8 fishermen. They usually carry five. Fishermen spend from 2–21 days at the island and average eight days. They must bring their own food and water.
We observed four fishermen working from a small vessel over the past week. Their fishing trip lasted from April 21 to 26. During their stay, they used seven traps and fished with hook and line. Traps were marked with soda, milk or motor oil bottles. We were able to locate six of the seven traps, as they were actively fished. The buoys attached to the seventh trap were pulled under by the current. Even the fishermen could not locate it at times.
fishermen water,
by A. Uhrin
At each trap, we deployed a drop camera to observe the type of habitat the trap rested on. A GPS coordinate was collected on the buoy. A portable depth sounder was used to determine water depth. We revisited the traps, relocating all seven, and repeated all documentation. Since the fishermen departed the island, traps will remain on the bottom for an indeterminate amount of time. This has potential to impact the substrate and the fishery. One example of such a potential impact would be if the buoy marking the location of the trap disappears and the fishermen cannot relocate the trap. Then the trap becomes a ghost trap that would continue to capture fish until it eventually disintegrated or broke up into pieces. Also, the longer a trap sits on live coral, the stronger the likelihood of coral tissue injury from abrasion or from shading, which could lead to coral death.
We interacted with the fishermen throughout the cruise. Scientist Jean Wiener conversed with them in Creole about the lack of fishing activity during our stay. He discussed other points regarding the Haitian–Navassa fishery. This information will be used to refine a report drafted for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
fishermen hammer and nails
to fix their rudder,
by A. Uhrin
The fishermen’s rudder had broken during the week. Jean gave them nails and a hammer to fix it. The men informed us that the Nancy Foster had inadvertently cut one of their trap buoy lines. We deployed divers and attached a new buoy line.
Although we had anticipated a larger fishing fleet, we were still able to extract important information about the fishery. One important lesson learned is that factors driving the presence of fishermen at Navassa may not be consistent from year to year or even within one year.
Lulu Bay
Lulu Bay is a small cove on the southern side of Navassa. It is the only landing site on the island. The bay acts as home base for the Haitian fishermen during their stay. Sails and rigging used in the journey are tucked away into small nooks in the cliff wall. On the southeastern side of the bay, a trail leftover from historical mining activities is cut directly into rock. Getting to the trail requires scaling a ~ 20 ft vertical wall. The trail leads to a lighthouse with cisterns. Fishermen collect rainwater from the cisterns for bathing and washing clothes.
Underwater in Lulu Bay are middens, mounds of empty conch shells discarded when the animal was removed. Remnants of earlier mining activities and operation of the lighthouse litter the bottom such as:
- metal tanks
- railway tracks
- mining cart wheels
- ship anchors
Scientists in the Spotlight
Dive Team B Members: Amy Uhrin, Dave Hilmer, and Paula Whitfield,
Amy Uhrin is one of the team’s habitat photographers as well as the principle investigator of the gear impact survey component of the cruise that was conducted using drop camera and SCUBA operations. She is a research ecologist at the NOAA CCFHR in Beaufort, NC. Amy specializes in seagrass disturbance ecology and specifically focuses on restoration and blade transplants. Amy has enjoyed the diving. She found the interactions with the Haitian fisherman very rewarding.
Paula Whitfield is the team’s fish counter. She is a fisheries biologist at CCFHR in Beaufort, NC and a technical diver. Paula is the principle investigator of an Invasive Indo–Pacific Lionfish project which involves technical diving offshore of North Carolina. She is writer, director, narrator, and cinematographer for video of North Carolina shipwrecks featuring aggregations of sand tiger sharks. Although Paula has been diving all over the world, she is in awe of the beautiful clear waters that surround Navassa Island.
Dave Hilmer is a program manager for the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) in Silver Springs, MD. CSCOR has developed a coral reef research program to address the impact of stressors, such as pollution and climate change, on coral reef ecosystems. Dave is the other habitat photographer for dive team B. He has enjoyed the amazing underwater visibility and working with the other scientists. Photo: Dave Hilmer reeling in tape for habitat dive, by A. Uhrin.
In the Spotlight: Nancy Foster crew members
Tracy Hamburger, Operations Officer NOAA Corps
Tracy graduated from Texas A&M University in Galveston with a B.S. in Marine Biology as well as a Coast Guard Third Mate license. This, together with her work experience sailing cargo ships as a third mate, allowed her to advance to Navigation Officer just after her NOAA Corps training (this usually takes a year of service). Tracy plans on a career as a NOAA Corps Officer with aspirations to become a Captain and a Commanding Officer. For her upcoming 3–year land assignment, she hopes to be assigned to the National Marine Sanctuary Office of either the Channel Islands or the Flower Garden Banks. Although she misses her family in the midwest, Tracy enjoys the shared feeling of accomplishment she gets upon completion of each of the diverse missions (scientific or hydrographic) the Nancy Foster undertakes. Her favorite operation so far has been with the Lionfish project off the coast of North Carolina during which the divers deploy directly from the Nancy Foster.
As a certified NOAA diver, she contributes to dive operations along with her other duties as a NOAA Corps Officer such as:
- bridge watch
- ship operations scheduling (for our project she assigns coxswains and safety divers for each operation)
- operation of the Nancy Foster
- small vessel launch
- small vessel operation.
Photo by J. Vander Pluym
Jesse Stiggins, Chief Steward
Jesse calls himself a true Florida Cracker with pride as he grew up working on cattle ranches in Florida. He was a baker out of high school until he joined the Navy in 1981 where he became a "Tin Can Sailor," by which he refers to working on destroyers and cruisers. His most memorable service in the Navy was a four-year assignment in Keflavik, Iceland where he worked as a cook at the Naval Air Station there. He remembers fondly the Icelandic community as filled with history and a laid back atmosphere. Jesse began work with NOAA weeks before his retirement from the Navy in 2001. He started off on the NOAA Ship Delaware II which conducted fisheries research from Cape Cod up to the Bay of Fundy and then worked on the Oregon II which conducted long line fishing and scientific missions. When the Oregon II went into the shipyard for repairs, Jesse moved to the Nancy Foster as the Chief Steward.
Jesse is extremely happy with the facilities and the crew aboard the Nancy Foster, not to mention the many trips to the Caribbean. Although he misses his family, he truly enjoys the feeling of traveling on the water and the freedom of the position.
Jesse's duties include:
- menu preparation
- shared shopping duties
- order placement
- meal preparation
- food storage.
Photo by J. Vander Pluym.