Our Valuable Marine Systems
Coral reefs and seagrass meadows are some of the most diverse marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are home to 25% of life in the ocean. Seagrass meadows play an important role in keeping the oceans healthy and providing habitat for a wide array of marine organisms. A number of disturbance events have affected Tobago’s marine ecosystems resulting in significant mortality / dieback of critical coral reefs and seagrass beds. Coral reef monitoring (IMA) has shown up to 50 % coral loss from the 2010 bleaching with minimal recovery to date as a result of pollution and overfishing that limit the natural recovery processes. Seagrass beds...
MARIN Tobago, the next phase
The main phase of the MARIN project has commenced following a renewed partnership between bp Trinidad and Tobago and the Institute of Marine Affairs with funding support from bp (UK). MARIN Tobago intends to deliver long-term biodiversity conservation and restoration of Tobago’s marine ecosystems using a multifaceted approach: (1) building sustainable ocean resilience; (2) restoring of Tobago’s coral reefs and seagrass beds; (3) generating ocean stewardship through outreach and engagement. The project will focus on Tobago’s marine ecosystems within the Buccoo Reef - Bon Accord Lagoon Marine Protected Area (MPA), and the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve in Northeast Tobago. Both areas hold...
The restoration journey continues, Project MARIN proceeds for another five years.
Media release: September 11, 2023 The MARIN Tobago pilot brings needed attention to endangered coral reefs and seagrass meadows. The report on the pilot phase indicates the way forward for the next five years. The Institute of Marine Affairs’ coral and seagrass restoration project, MARIN, has passed through a successful pilot phase and is now set to enter the main phase with support from bpTT. Based on the success of the pilot project, bpTT has committed US$1 million in grant funding to support a 5-year work programme with the IMA to further their work in coral reef and seagrass restoration across Tobago, working in partnership with NGOs,...
Recognising the Importance of Our Seagrass Meadows
March 1, 2023 marks the first-ever United Nations recognised World Seagrass Day. The day is being commemorated to raise public awareness on the importance of seagrass meadows and to recognise the importance of seagrasses to the health and well-being of the planet, as well as to the people, communities, flora and fauna that rely on them. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that grow in the intertidal and subtidal zones along shallow tropical and temperate coasts. They are very productive, faunally rich and ecologically important marine resources that provide nursery habitats for several commercially important species such as conch, fish and lobster and a major food source...
Blue Carbon is no reason to feel blue
Have you ever described yourself or someone else as “feeling blue”? In that case you are using a phrase coined from a custom among many old deepwater sailing ships. If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to homeport. I would like to think that this is true because it perfectly fits my narrative but given that the internet source was quite dubious it probably isn’t. Another source indicated that the use of the colour blue to mean sadness goes all the...
A view from the hill: The impacts of sedimentation on the coastal environment
If you have the opportunity to go to San Fernando Hill or the Lady Young Road in Port of Spain, you can have an unobstructed panoramic view of the Gulf of Paria and its environs. Viewing the coast from these vantage points gives you another perspective of human impacts on the coastal environment. Our impact is very evident after heavy rainfall when you look out only to see a large brown plume of sediment moving across the blue waters. Sediment is washed down from hillsides and plains into drains and rivers, eventually reaching the sea. The magnitude of these plumes is unknown for the...
Marine Macroalgae; Its Pivotal Role in Three Major Tropical Ecosystems
Algae are grouped into three major divisions based on pigmentation, (green, red and brown) and play key roles in the development and maintenance of marine ecosystems. ...
