Reef and Fishery Assessment of Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge

On April 23, 2009 scientists from the NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami Florida (SEFSC) departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster. Their destination: the Navassa National Wildlife Refuge. Along with the NOAA scientists are researchers from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM/RSMAS), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Director of the Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine (FoProBiM), an NGO based in Haiti.
This work is funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program.


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Boobies & Frigatebirds up close

The operations are finally under way and we are all happy to be diving!!!! The boobies & Frigatebirds appear to be interested in our presence but lose interest just as fast when they learn we have no hand-outs for them. They are swooping down much closer to our little boats then they do to the Nancy Foster perhaps because our small boats resemble Haitian fishing craft. We are all excited because we are getting great views of these spectacular birds as they circle above us. Dana Williams and Abel Valdivia were working very close to shore when Abel managed to snap the picture of the day just before a research dive.

Photo Abel Valdivia
Mike
at 9:59 PM
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