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September 24, 2007
Notice
bron The Daily Herald
Senior Policy Advisor to the Netherlands Antilles Department of the
Environment Paul Hoetjes gave the Island Council an in depth PowerPoint presentation
on the ongoing Saba Bank Project at the Marine Park Office Friday afternoon.
In very graphic detail, Hoetjes showed recent pictures of the seabed where just last
week an anchored tanker had cut a trench at least three to four metres wide and over
one metre deep. The team said that this impressive impact took place over 36 hours
during a very calm period, when the ship hardly moved at all. Disrupting the sandy
bottom destroys foraging areas used by marine animals and in rougher weather
conditions, the anchor and its heavy chain can cause serious damage to coral reefs.
In another illustration, Hoetjes compared a 2002 picture of a coral bed to a photo
of the exact spot taken recently: the coral is completely dead and covered with
algae. Hoetjes said that this kind of information is necessary to backup any request
to the International Marine Organisation (IMO) for parts of the Saba Bank to be set
aside and protected as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). There is also
discussion of declaring the area a Queen Conch Reserve. The USONA-funded study,
which is at its midpoint, is organized from the Saba Conservation Foundation by fi
sheries expert Wes Toller and study coordinator Shelley Lundvall.
The aim of the study is to provide detailed information about the habitat, the fi sh
population and the health of the huge submerged atoll just off of Saba's shores. In
addition to investigating the Bank, studies are also made of the catches that arrive
at Fort Bay harbour. The study is adding detail to the seabed profi le provided by
the scientific soundings done last year by Dutch Navy Ship HNLMS Snellius. A newly
acquired remotecontrolled device, which relays instant views of the bottom back to a
computer on board the Marine Park boat, allows the team to see exactly the kind of
habitat and underwater population. Hoetjes said that when the project would come to
an end in December, a detailed management report with recommendations would be
issued to the island government.
Hoetjes said that it was already evident that if
the bank were to be protected, legislation would need to be in place with an
enforcement officer to assure compliance.
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