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Description:
Project Manager:
Michael Nemeth
Project Years:
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Project Summary:
US coral reefs are impacted by hundreds of grounding incidents annually. In the aftermath of groundings, impacted corals are often broken, dislodged, or flipped over. These fragments are subject to abrasion, scour, and sedimentation, which ultimately results in death. Unchecked, these damages can result in reef loss and instability. However, if dislodged fragments can be collected and stabilized shortly after physical impacts then the probability of survival increases substantially (~90%). Response to physical impacts is a priority in both Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, an identified capacity gap in both jurisdictions, and a priority element of the NOAA Habitat Focus Area (HFA) in Puerto Rico and the Acropora recovery plan. Puerto Rico and the USVI have acknowledged that because of internal limitations and the need for quick and flexible response that more robust action on the part of NOAA was necessary to help stem the unchecked and unnecessary coral losses that were occurring after physical impacts. This project directly supports the Coral Reef Conservation Program's Strategic Plan Targets 2.2 and 2,3 for preventing loss of corals and their habitat. A high percentage of these groundings occur in Culebra and the NE Reserves, which make up Puerto Rico's HFA.
Expected Outcome:
This project will continue a highly successful and highly leveraged program that has been cost effectively responded to reef impacts in the Caribbean for the last nine years. These responses help prevent direct coral loss and without this project and the flexible contract mechanism that it provides tens of thousands of corals would have been lost because no restoration would have taken place.
Project Locations:
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Puerto Rico
Jursdiction Priority Sites:
- Cabo Rojo
- Culebra
- Guanica and Marine Extension
- St. Croix East End Marine Park
Project Category:
Restoration
Project Status:
Ongoing
Associated Products:
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