Pait, Tony; Ian Hartwell; Andrew Mason; Dennis Apeti

Assessment of Chemical Contaminants in Biota from the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, USVI

2018

US DOC; NOAA; NCCOS; National Ocean Service

"The Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (SARI) in St. Croix, USVI, comprises an area of 1,015 acres and is jointly managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR). Habitats include mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reefs and a submarine canyon. The surrounding watershed has an area of approximately 3,000 acres and contains forest, shrub and barren areas, along with residential and commercial lands. A TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) has been established for dissolved oxygen in SARI. The impairment is thought to be the result of inputs from the surrounding watershed, and is a likely indicator of land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) which may include nutrients, sedimentation and chemical contaminants. In 2014, DPNR and NPS requested that NOAAs National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) conduct a chemical contaminants assessment in SARI. "

FY2018; CRCP Project ID: 31214; Project Title: An assessment of chemical contaminants in fish from the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve; Principal Investigator: Tony Pait