Maug includes three small islands (Higashi, Kita, and Nishi), with a total land area of 2.1 square km. They compose the subaerially exposed portion of the rim surrounding a flooded caldera that is considered to be a dormant volcano. The presence of countless seabirds on the three pinnacles provides a steady source of nutrients and organic matter into the caldera waters. Maug is uninhabited and is protected from development by the CNMI Constitution. It has been declared a wildlife conservation area. Fisheries resources are currently harvested, although there has been some interest within the CNMI government to extend conservation to the coastal areas. Results from the 2003 and 2004 NOAA surveys (MARAMP and Ring of Fire) show that Maug, with 73 species recorded, is the most coral-rich island in the northern islands.
Cruises CoRIS Metadata Record Names
OES0307 cred_toad_maug_oes0307_2003
Resource Description: Digital video images that are geo-referenced to navigation files.