Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
such as coral reef and shoal areas that are common in Micronesia, but are shallow and hazardous to
boats; and are able to wait out poor weather periods at a lower cost. Results of aerial surveys could
be used to delineate areas where marine mammals and sea turtles concentrate and where intensive
ship surveys, which include both visual and acoustic sampling, could be more efficiently conducted.
Aerial surveys are expensive (thousands of dollars per day), but less so than shipboard surveys.
Cost: Medium to High. Priority: 1.
Continue to support aerial surveys over beaches where sea turtles are known to nest by focusing on
specific locations and obtaining data from which population-level extrapolations can be made. Cost:
Medium. Priority: 2.
Conduct aerial surveys designed specifically to spot endangered sea turtles in the water in their
foraging habitats. Index studies, in which specific locations are sampled repetitively in a systematic
fashion over a long period of time, provide statistically robust data from which population-level
extrapolations can be made. Important population-scale questions can only be answered by rigorous
studies of index foraging habitats. The data collected would provide important information on hotspots
utilized by sea turtles while at sea. Cost: Medium. Priority: 2.
Establish year-round acoustic monitoring (via sonobuoys or hydrophone arrays) of key locations in
this area to provide presence and absence information for specific cetacean species (i.e., humpback
whale, fin whale, sperm whale) that could serve as an index of their seasonal arrival, residence, and
departure from this region. Such acoustic monitoring could be conducted from small vessels, from
bottom-mounted recorders or hydrophone arrays cabled to shore, or some combination of acoustic
monitoring methods. CRED is developing subsurface acoustic monitoring platforms to collect yearround
data (Parke personal communication). Cost: Medium to High. Priority: 2.
Support the CNMI and NOAA Fisheries-PIFSC for any of their efforts to collect and analyze stranded
marine mammal and sea turtle data in the Marianas MRA study area. Published stranding data was
heavily utilized in this MRA to aid in determination of species diversity and occurrence here. Cost:
Low. Priority: 2.
Attempt to capture and tag sea turtles during future marine tow, snorkel, and SCUBA surveys in order
to collect more accurate biological data. Employ biological sampling techniques (e.g., length and
weight measurements, biopsy sampling) to determine the age, sex, health, and genetic make-up of
sea turtles found in the area. This information can assist scientists in determining the age at which
juveniles recruit to and leave the Marianas archipelago, the nesting stocks that contribute to foraging
populations in the area, and the overall health status of resident sea turtles. Research efforts should
focus on high-use habitats (e.g., backwaters of Apra Harbor, east coast of Tinian) to maximize time
and resource utilization. Cost: Low to Moderate. Priority: 2.
Recommend to the CNMI an improved data collection system for developing longline fishery (CNMI).
Cost: Moderate. Priority: 2.
Recommend that fishery data collection be extended to previously non-surveyed points (e.g., ports) in
order to obtain more accurate landings data (Guam). Cost: Low to Moderate. Priority: 2.
Recommend to the CNMI government to develop new legislation requiring fish vendors to participate
in the “Commercial Fish Receipt Book Program” (Guam). Cost: Low to Moderate. Priority: 2.
Assess the best way to obtain data necessary for fishery management (creel surveys, community
development programs, commercial purchase systems, or other types of data collection systems),
while considering the local social, political, legal, and economic constraints within the region (CNMI).
Cost: Low to Moderate. Priority: 2.
Support a baseline biological survey of the redgill emperor, Lethrinus rubrioperculatus. Cost: Low.
Priority: 2.
6-4