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.


Sunday, May 3, 2009

Our last night with Navassa’s Boobies & Frigatebirds

It’s Sunday one week after we arrived at Navassa Island. We are all sad because tomorrow will be the last day of dive operations but at the same time we are happy to begin our steam home. The birders on the ship are particularly sad to be saying goodbye to our now nightly ritual of watching the boobies return home trying to avoid the ever present harassment from the Frigatebirds as they try to steal a meal from a tired or inexperienced Boobie. The swooping, diving, and aerial combat taking place between these two heavyweights of flight is truly a great sight to see. The sun setting over the ocean complete with green flash and brilliant orange hues only adds to the great evenings we have enjoyed on the Nancy Foster. I wish sunsets could last forever but soon after the sky gets to dark to see we return to our data entry and other nightly responsibility.
-Mike
at 11:23 PM
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