Institute of Marine Affairs and SECORE International Join Forces to Restore Tobago’s Coral Reefs
Port of Spain - The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) is pleased to announce its partnership with SECORE International, Inc., an implementing partner under the Marine Resilience Initiative (MARIN) Tobago project. The Institute’s collective goal is to restore Tobago’s coral reef in terms of coral cover and biodiversity. Such efforts are urgently needed given the threat of global climate change to coral reefs and the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States. SECORE is a leading organization in developing and sharing the methods and technologies for a large-scale restoration of corals. The organisation’s work focuses on integrating science and innovative technology to implement coral restoration through...
BULLETIN: Suspected Harmful Algal Bloom around Tobago
Over the last few days, the Institute of Affairs (IMA) has received reports of fish kills at four sites along Tobago’s Atlantic coast – Delaford Bay, Roxborough, Lambeau Beach and on Flying Reef along Tobago’s south coast. Dead marine life was observed along beaches and in the water, mainly consisting of reef fish species such as parrotfish, snapper, butterflyfish, trumpetfish and other species including eels and octopuses. Simultaneously, reports of a possible “red tide” were reported in the same areas over the weekend. Divers observed large pockets of warm, reddish water extending to 50 feet along the Atlantic coast. This may be indicative of...
The Marine Resilience Initiative, Tobago (Pilot Project)
Tobago waters are rich in marine biodiversity, home to unique and interconnected ecosystems, such as the Buccoo coral reef - Bon Accord Lagoon Complex made up of seagrass and mangroves. Most of Tobago’s Caribbean coast is fringed by coral reefs extending to the northeast Tobago, UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve. For over ten years, the Institute of Marine Affairs has been monitoring the health of coral reefs and seagrasses around Tobago. Unfortunately, we have observed several disturbance events have affected Tobago’s marine ecosystems resulting in significant mortality / dieback of critical coral reefs and seagrass beds. Coral reef monitoring conducted by IMA has...
Coral Reefs and COP-26: Coral Bleaching Alert in Tobago
: Coral bleaching has been observed in Pillar corals found in the shallow areas of Buccoo and Plymouth Reefs. Photo courtesy Lanya Fanovich, Environmental Research Institute of Charlotteville...
Massive Sargassum Influx on Caribbean Shorelines linked to Climate Change: Hazard or Hope
By Dr. Rahanna Juman, Director (Ag.) and Wetlands Ecologist For yet another year, massive quantities of Sargassum are seen washing up along Caribbean coasts. This unprecedented, massive, episodic influxes of floating sargassum seaweed on coastlines was first observed in 2011 and has had significant negative impacts, particularly on coastal communities and livelihoods, public health, tourism and fisheries (UNEP 2021). This issue therefore represents an emerging hazard for a region that is already subject to numerous hazards and indeed, various countries in the Caribbean have declared national states of emergency with respect to sargassum influxes (Desrochers et al. 2020). This new source of sargassum is likely...