Thursday, December 1, 2011

Coral Reef Seminars Continue at Jorge Seda Crespo



The students in the photos above are cheering because their school was chosen to participate in this year's school-wide recycling program challenge as part of the SF Rincon's reef restoration project.  The chapter purchased containers from a project partner, AMEC, who manufactures waste and recycling equipment, of which are being donated to the participating schools so the students can compete against homerooms to see how much plastic and aluminum material they can recycle in one semester.  Cool prizes will be given out to the students who excel in this program and the winning homeroom team will get a pizza party.  The two schools participating in the region with the chapter and their respective municipalities are Jorge Seda Crespo in Rincon and MASIS in Anasco.  


Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris removal and prevention effort.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Coral Reef Seminars Begin at West Coast Schools



Last Wednesday, the outreach and education component of the Surfrider Foundation Rincon's coral reef restoration project began at MASIS in Anasco, PR.  The morning included (4) 50 minute seminars which were given to 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 11th graders; in the coming weeks the rest of the grades will get to participate, too.  The students learned about the status of coral reefs around the world, coral biology, current and past restoration projects, and what they can do to help.  A performance goal for this portion of the project is to present this material to 500 students on the west coast and include them in new and/or enhanced recycling programs at their respective schools.  Besides, MASIS, other participating schools are Jorge Seda Crespo (Rincon's Middle School), Rincon's High School, and San Sebastian's Maximino A. Salas Middle School. 

A special thanks goes out to SF Rincon's chapter chair, Jim Crotty, for helping during the presentations! 


Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris removal effort.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Day 1 Rincon; Reef Restoration Program Recommences in Rincon for the 2011/12 Season



When you see this container be sure to use it to recycle!
This past Saturday more than 60 people participated in the chapter's first reef restoration event of the 2011/12 season in Rincon.  The activities included cleaning the beach from the Balneario to Steps, a nearshore survey of the Elkhorn coral colonies in the southern portion of the reserve, and spray painting recycling containers that are being donated to area schools and businesses to help increase municipal recycling and to prevent more debris from entering our oceans.  This is a pilot project that we are starting in conjunction with this year's reef restoration program in Rincon.  With project funds, the chapter is purchasing recycling bins, painting them, and donating them to whomever is interested in boosting their recycling efforts.  All Metal Container Equipment (AMEC) of Arecibo and the Municipality of Rincon is collaborating with us on this project.  If you own a business in the area, or are interested in helping to enhance recycling in our local schools, please contact us about getting some more containers. 

A special thanks goes out to All Metal Equipment Containers (AMEC) of Arecibo for providing us the containers, the municipality of Rincon for their collaboration in this project, Pratt Institute of New York, MAS Integrated School of Anasco, and Club 4H Urayo of Anasco, for all of your help this past Saturday.  You guys rock!

Saturday's stats:
60 participants
Collected 200 pounds of debris along the shoreline
Surveyed 1 km of nearshore coastline
Painted (1) 2 yard container and 5 95 gallon containers
Donated our first 95 gallon container to Club Nautico de Rincon



This is a photo of our beautiful freshly painted marine debris container.  The animals serve as a reminder to us as to why we are working to remove and prevent marine debris from entering our oceans.  

Students from MASIS

This is a picture of the group of architectural graduate students from Pratt enjoying their masterpieces.  The students graciously created all the stencils that were used on Saturday to paint the containers.  These same stencils will be used to paint more containers in the future.  

 
Having fun with stencils and spray paint all in the name of recycling


Club 4H Urayo of Anasco


Stoked to participate and protect Puerto Rico's resources for the future
This is a diagram of the survey a group of 15 snorkelers did this past Saturday.  I'm happy to report that all of the large Elkhorn colonies that I am familiar with in this portion of the reserve were debris free.  The only items we found were a block and a bunch of fishing line smothering a soft coral.  The fishing line was removed, but the block will have to be with the boat.   




Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris prevention and removal effort.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Day 4; Underwater Demolition at Cayo Ron


The tired but stoked demolition crew
 Last Thursday, a stacked  crew joined myself, Paco and Carlos of Monaquatics, and Captain Edwin "Pauco" Font to participate in the chapters' coral reef restoration project titled "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Arrecifes de Tourmaline and Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.  The goal of Thursday's adventure was to demolish the boat hull by cutting it with a 36" underwater chainsaw and transplant additional corals from the rudder.  After an extremely long and arduous effort we were successful.  The chapter would like to thank Taino Divers for providing 9 tanks of air, Paco and Carlos from Monaquatics for providing 6 tanks of air, Surf 787 for providing a soft-top surfboard, Hector Ruiz from Reefscaping for his contribution of pre-mixed cement and other supplies to properly transplant the corals, Sean Griffin NOAAs' Puerto Rico reef restoration field coordinator for field oversight,  Shayne McIntyre from OnSafari as well as Omar Ortiz from Seagrant for documenting, DRNA and Idelfonso Ruiz for debris pickup, and lastly but certainly not least the Atlantis Diving Contractors crew of 4 Miquel Molina, David Jesus, Luis Colon and Juan Colon for the underwater demolition services they provided.  Thanks!!  Below are photos from the Thursday's activities.


Luis Colon of Atlantis Diving Contractors cuts a portion of the large boat hull.  The insets are different angles taken during his cut.  The lower image shows the boat hull in pieces at our drop spot in a wide open sediment area.  These pieces were subsequently lift bagged and brought onto the boat; it is not as easy as it sounds because some of them weighed 400-500 lbs! (photo: S.McIntyre)


Here I am swimming subsurface with a portion of the bow guiding it to our designated drop spot.  This was a bit more of a tame piece to move that only required the use of 2 50 lb lift bags, but you can clearly see it is much larger than me. (Photo S.McIntyre) 
  



The diagram above is a 3-Dimensional perspective of the debris field at Cayo Ron. The approximate size of the debris field is 3.2 acres and has been the focus of our efforts. The upper image depicts an aerial image of a portion of the western insular platform with the northwestern region of Cayo Ron displaying a bathymetry layer. The middle inset corresponds a different view of the bathymetry layer of Cayo Ron with the lower view representing the 3D line of sight at water level. This gives the viewer a unique perspective as to how the debris is depicted spatially in the backreef at Cayo Ron. Note: The objects are accurate in space but not in size. Waypoints depicted their whereabouts and their size was scaled relative to the recorded size of each piece/object and scaled using symbology in ArcGIS. The least accurate attribute of this image is the amount of surface the pieces are actually covering at Cayo Ron in the image. Future depictions will correct for this.

We have one more field day left for our work at Cayo Ron then we will be shifting our efforts towards Rincon.  If you would like to join us for our last field day at Cayo Ron to be held sometime during the week of 9/26 please contact me by email.  Thanks! 


Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris removal effort.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Day 3; Transplanting Corals at Cayo Ron


Another happy group of volunteers!
This past Saturday a large group of volunteers joined myself and Paco and Carlos of Monaquatics to participate in the chapters' coral reef restoration project titled "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Arrecifes de Tourmaline and Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.  The goal of Saturday's adventure was to survey, mark, and position additional debris to be removed off the reef and transplant corals off of the large boat hull.  This group of volunteers including Hector Ruiz and Antonio Ortiz completed the tasks at hand.  The chapter would like to thank Paco and Carlos from Monaquatics for providing 6 tanks of air, Surf 787 for providing 2 soft-tops and a kayak, and Hector and Antonio of Reefscaping for their contribution of pre-mixed cement and other supplies to properly transplant the corals.  Thanks!!  Below are photos from the Saturday's activities including the first one of the fourth coral transplant taken from the boat hull.     


Coral #4 Porites astreoides (common name = Mustard hill coral) documented after it was adhered to suitable substrate just meters from where it was removed from the hull.  In total, 36 corals were transplanted off the hull composed of 3 other species commonly known as brain coral, star coral, and finger coral.  Their progress will be monitored for a year.  The black and gray deviations on the board are 5 cm apart (Photo W.Merten).
Below is a figure of the placement of 29 of the 36 transplanted corals in roughly identical habitat (i.e. depth, light, wave activity, temperature) as where they were removed, besides the type of substrate.  This figure is based off of in situ (in the field) measurements with a measuring tape and meter stick.    


Above is a diagram of an estimate of the placement of 29 of the 36 transplanted corals at Cayo Ron on Saturday.  The sequential placement of each coral was measured in situ in meters to reveal the transplant line.  The substrate where the corals were placed is classified as colonized pavement and linear reef according to NOS habitat maps.  There are 4 more corals that will be transplanted off the rudder and added to this line soon (Fig. W.Merten). 


Below is a figure of the second largest piece of boat debris that we will be cutting into more manageable pieces to be lifted off the reef on our 4th field day (TBA).  Although this is the second largest piece (~ 6 sq. meters) of debris we will be removing off the reef, it is only 10% the size of the hull!  However, it still has a fully functioning rudder that swivels!

Above is a diagram of the rudder.  The numbers correspond to the corals that we will be transplanting from the hull to nearby location.  There is also a large soft coral (not shown) in the middle of the upper panel that we will be transplanting as well.  The size of the rudder (~6 sq. m) was estimated by subtracting the unoccupied space the rudder filled from the area of a 6 x 9 m grid positioned on the substrate during the survey.  The rudder is denoted by dotted lines coming from it's location on the lower panel.  It is 1 meter in length and .6 meters tall (Fig. W.Merten).

Below are the survey tracks after the first 3 field days at Cayo Ron. 


Above is a diagram of all the survey tracks the volunteers have conducted during the search and recovery of the marine debris in Cayo Ron's northern back reef.  From the surveys and recovery of the debris it is postulated that not one but two boats ran aground here (Fig. W.Merten).

Below is all the debris located during the first 3 days of work at Cayo Ron. 

Above is a diagram of all the debris the volunteers have marked and documented over the past three outings.  The symbols correspond to the type of debris we discovered group by category and denoted in the legend.  Additionally, the hull and rudder polygons were placed where they occur on the reef.  *Note:  The size of the symbols and objects are not to scale.  However, the distance between one and another is (Fig. W.Merten).

The next field day will consist of cutting the boat hull and rudder into more manageable pieces to be taken back to land and deposited in a proper landfill.  This date has yet to be determined but if you are interested in helping out please feel free to contact me.

Contact Info:
Wessley Merten

Email:  wessley.merten@upr.edu
P:  787-436-8300 

Monday, September 5, 2011

Day 2; Removing a TON of debris off Cayo Ron

Friday's crew (Photo Shayne McIntrye)



This past Friday a small group of volunteers joined myself and Paco and Carlos of Monaquatics to participate in the chapters' coral reef restoration project titled "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Arrecifes de Tourmaline and Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.  The goal of Friday's adventure was to remove fiberglass and wood slabs from 2 old shipwrecks off/out of Cayo Ron's beautiful back reef.  The slabs and other pieces of debris were mostly previously marked and positioned during the first outing on the 27th of August.  However, James Sethward and I still managed to lift-bag a few more newly discovered pieces to strategic sediment laden drop-spots where we moved our vessel and extracted the debris later that afternoon.  Below is a photo of one of the 6 large slabs we removed on Friday.  Those slabs, plus many other pieces of boat debris such as columns, heat exchangers, stereo speakers, etc. amounted in more than a TON (2200 lbs) of debris being removed from Cayo Ron.  We arrived at this amount after the volunteers estimated the weight of each piece once on-board.  Additionally, each piece was measured with a meter stick and we calculated a rough estimate of the area of reef substrate the pieces were covering to be ~21.4 square meters.

The chapter would like to thank Taino Divers for providing 6 tanks of air and Surf 787 for providing 2 soft-top surfboards and a kayak. We would also like to thank Idelfonso Ruiz for organizing DRNA to come and pick up the debris promptly upon our arrival.  More thanks go out to Paco and Carlos for their hard work and I would also like to thank Shayne and Shannon McIntyre for their help with documenting the adventure.  Thanks!!

Above is a photo of the crew hoisting a large ~200 lb slab off the reef.  (Photo W.Merten ( L to R); Paco, Carlos, James, Terry and Steve).
Once back at Monaquatics, DRNA was there to pick up the debris and truck it to a landfill.  This is all the debris we removed and as you can see it completely fills the back of this large truck bed (and more!).  Great work crew!  
 



Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris removal effort.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Day 1; Cayo Ron Survey

One happy group of volunteers!  (photo:  W Merten)
This past Saturday 18 volunteers joined myself to kick-off the chapters' coral reef restoration project titled "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Arrecifes de Tourmaline and Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.  The goal of Saturday's adventure was to survey the reef, mark the location of any debris we discovered, survey and ID the corals on the big boat hull, and have fun all the while.  I'm very pleased to report that all of our objectives were completed for day.  All of the volunteers deserve a big round of applause for the hard work they endured and for greatly contributing to this project.  I would also like to thank Taino Divers for providing 6 tanks of air and Surf 787 for providing 2 soft-top surfboards and a kayak.  I would also like to thank Oliver Bencosme and Pinchon from Seagrant for their help with documenting the adventure.  Thanks!!

The next field days are on for Friday (9/2) and Saturday (9/3).   Friday's objective is to remove previously marked small to medium size debris and to survey and ID corals on another large piece of the boat hull.  Saturday's objective will be to transplant the previously identified corals on the large pieces of boat hull to nearby suitable substrate.  If you are interested in helping out please contact me by email at wessley.merten@upr.edu.  Check out the figures and photos below from Saturday's mission.  


The figure above displays the survey tracks conducted by volunteers this past Saturday.  The inset, or focus area, is where most of the survey's were conducted due to the increased amount of shipwreck debris (Fig. W Merten).


The figure above displays the location of the debris the volunteers found during their surveys.  Within the hull grid is a schematic of the shape of the large boat hull.  See the figure below for a more detailed view (Fig. W Merten).


A total of 100 lbs of debris was removed from Cayo Ron as a result of Saturday's outing.  However, we positioned probably around 300 lbs to be removed this Friday at a drop site in a sediment area in the backreef.  Along with that debris, I estimate that this Friday we will remove around 500-700 lbs of debris! Bring your working muscles!  Take a look at one of the monster boat hulls we are going to need to cut up to remove below.

The figure above displays the boat hull on the substrate of Cayo Ron.  The hull is covering 57.8 m^2 of habitable reef substrate.  The numbers on the hull indicate the individual corals that are going to be transplanted to a location nearby.  Below is a species list by number (n = 40).  The white background is the grid that the measurements were based on.  The tan background represents the substrate minus the abundance of hard and soft corals and other associated reef species (Fig. W Merten & Hector Ruiz). 


Information prepared by Hector Ruiz

The quantitative estimate of the boat hull was derived from in situ (in the water/field) measurements and through calculations in ArcGIS and Photoshop.  A special thanks to James Sethward, Kathy Hall, and Carol Ramos for helping establishing the grid and with the process of taking measurements.  Additionally, I would like to thank Hector Ruiz and Tim Rowell for their work identifiying the corals that will be transplanted.

Our next outing is this Friday!  Contact me by email if you are interested in helping out.


Contact:

Wessley Merten
787-436-8300
wessley.merten@upr.edu

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Saturday, August 27th, Field Day Outline

Cayo Ron located 8 km off of Cabo Rojo and 13 km from Boqueron Bay (~250 acres)

Our goal for Saturday is to survey the reef like the image below.  This entails dragging, pulling, or swimming a GPS around with volunteers while looking for debris.  If and when we find debris we will mark it with a waypoint, log the type of debris, size, etc., then remove it.  However, on Saturday we will be removing only the small debris such as clothing, fishing line, rope, etc. that is smothering the reef.  Other large objects, so long as they have not become encrusted or overgrown with corals, will be lifted with lift bags and swam to an accessible sand area and left to be removed on the 3rd field day to Cayo Ron (to be announced) along with the large boat hull.  Most of the survey work we will be doing will be confined to depths less than 15-20' deep.   


Survey of Reserva Marina Tres Palmas and adjacent areas (500 acres).

Timeline of events

715-730 am      Participants arrive at Monaquatics (click the link for directions/location)

730-745 am     Day Briefing
 
800 am             Leave the dock

 830 am           Arrive to Cayo Ron

830-900 am     Break into teams

900-1100 am   Dive 1

11-1230 pm     Lunch

1-230 pm        Dive 2

 300 pm           Leave for home

 330 pm           Arrive at dock

Things to bring

Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Snorkeling or Dive gear
Lunch
Water
Rashguard or wetsuit
$10 bucks for a tank if you have dive gear
water camera

Please be on time! 

Contact Wessley Merten at 787-436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information on helping out in this coral reef restoration and marine debris removal effort.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Un Nuevo Proyecto de Desperdicios Marinos

Click here for english

Recientemente, el capítulo de la Fundación Surfrider en Rincón recibió una subvención de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA) Programa de Desechos Marinos hacer otra proyecto de restauración de los arrecifes con la remoción de desechos marinos en Puerto Rico. Este es el tercer proyecto que el capítulo de Rincón ha recibido de la NOAA hasta que el primer proyecto en 2006. Ese proyecto, junto con la segunda, que se completó en 2008, eliminó más de 475 gomas y un montón de otros desperdicios como partes de lanchas, bloques de cemento, cable, y la ropa que todos los afectado negativamente a la salud de los corales y otros organismos dentro de los Tres Palmas la Reserva Marina. En total, 150 corales individuales se salvaron de la asfixia y en detrimento de los desechos marinos. Ahora, en 2011, el capítulo se complace en anunciar el título de su tercer trabajo: Protección de los Arrecifes de Coral a través de eliminación de desechos marinos en dos Áreas Marinas Protegidas (AMPs): Arrecifes de Tourmaline y Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.

El sitio de estudio principal de este proyecto es Cayo Ron dentro de Arrecifes de Turmalina (de Cabo Rojo) como se describe anteriormente. La imagen superior muestra Cayo de Ron, la densidad de cuerno de alce (círculos de colores), y la ubicación de un gran parte de un barco (signos) que se corta en trozos y se retira. (Fig. M. Scharer and M. Nemeth)

La figura anterior muestra el sitio de estudio secundario, RMTP (línea de color negro sólido), los desechos marinos previamente marcados, y la extensión del proyecto indicado por la línea punteada negro. El recuadro muestra la densidad de coral cuerno de alce en RMTP (Fig. M. Scharer, M. Nemeth, and W.Merten).

Con este proyecto, el capítulo se ampliará la zona de arrecifes estudiados y atendidos (~ 750 acres), aumentar la cantidad de voluntarios de la comunidad que participan y las escuelas que participan en la difusión y la educación, y trabajar con los municipios de Rincón, Añasco y Cabo Rojo para alcanzar los siguientes objetivos: restaurar y proteger la salud de los arrecifes de coral de cuerno de alce y otros organismos mediante la eliminación de los desechos marinos; iniciar un programa de prevención de los desechos marinos mediante actividades de divulgación y la educación; evitar que los desechos entren en el océano por el trabajo con los municipios de Rincón, Añasco y Cabo Rojo para fortalecer sus programas de reciclaje, establecer un sistema coherente del ciclo de la costa de recolección de basura, y establecer normas para las actividades de gran tamaño que se llevan a cabo en las playas.  Juntos, estos objetivos comprenden el objetivo general del capítulo de mejorar el estado de la salud de los ecosistemas de arrecifes de coral se producen a lo largo de la costa oeste de Puerto Rico.

Para leer un resumen completo del proyecto, haga clic aquí.

El trabajo de campo contendrá 20 días en la lancha; 5 se llevará a cabo en Cayo Ron y 15 en Rincón. El trabajo de campo en Cayo Ron se iniciará en una semana. El trabajo de campo en Rincón comenzará en octubre, el tiempo lo permite. Los buzos certificados y buzos interesados ​​deben comunicarse con el director del proyecto para obtener información sobre cómo reservar un lugar en la lancha por uno de los días de campo.

Si usted está interesado en ayudar en este esfuerzo por favor comunicarse con el director del proyecto, Wessley Merten, a (787) 436-8300 o wessley.merten upr.edu @ para más información. Necesitamos voluntarios que nos acompañan en el campo para el localización y eliminación de los desperdicios, ayudar en la installoción de zafacones  a la costera, la pintura contenedores de reciclaje con los estudiantes, y aumentar la conciencia sobre la protección de nuestros recursos locales preciosos.

A New Marine Debris Removal Project is Initiated

Haga clic aqui para espanol

Recently, the chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in Rincon was awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program to spearhead another coral reef restoration and marine debris removal project in Puerto Rico.  This is the third award that the Rincon chapter has received from NOAA since the first project was undertaken in 2006.  That project, along with the second that was completed in 2008, removed more than 475 tires and copious amounts of other items such as derelict boat debris, cinderblocks, cable, and clothing that all negatively affected the health of the corals and other organisms within the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve.  In total, 150 individual corals were liberated of the smothering and detrimental marine debris.  Now, in 2011, the chapter is pleased to announce the title of its' third effort: Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal in 2 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): Arrecifes de Tourmaline and Reserva Marina Tres Palmas.

The primary study site of this project is Cayo Ron within Arrecifes de Tourmaline (off Cabo Rojo) as depicted above.  The top image shows Cayo Ron, Elkhorn densities (colored circles), and the location of a large hull of a vessel (plus signs) that will be cut into pieces and removed.  (Figure M. Scharer and M. Nemeth)

The figure above depicts the secondary study site, RMTP (solid black line), previously marked marine debris, and the project extension indicated by the dotted black line.  The inset depicts the density of Elkhorn coral within RMTP. (RMTP Fiqure:  M. Scharer, M. Nemeth, and W. Merten)
With this project, the chapter will expand the reef area surveyed and serviced (~750 acres), increase the amount of participating community volunteers and schools involved in the outreach and education, and work with the municipalities of Rincon, Anasco, and Cabo Rojo to acheive the following objectives: restore and protect the health of Elkhorn coral dominated reef systems and associated organisms by removing large amounts of non-re-accumulating marine debris; initiate a strong marine debris prevention program through outreach and education by raising awareness about the importance of protecting reefs, the link between land-based activities and the health of the reefs, and how our everyday actions can have a direct impact on reef health; prevent debris from entering the ocean by working with the aforementioned municipalities to strengthen their recycling programs, establish an effective and consistent coastal trash pickup cycle, and to set standards to abide by when large activities are conducted on municipal beaches i.e. festivals, fishing tournaments, surfing competitions, and races such as triathlons that consistently occur in these areas.  Together, these objectives comprise the chapter's overall goal of improving the state of the health of the coral reef ecosystems occurring along the west coast of Puerto Rico.  

To read a more comprehensive summary of the project click here.  

The field work will be comprised of 20 boat days; 5 will be conducted at Cayo Ron and 15 in Rincon.  Field work at Cayo Ron will begin as soon as possible where the reef will be surveyed and the debris will be removed prior to arrival of any large storms.  The field work in Rincon will begin in October, weather permitting.  Certified divers and interested snorkelers should contact the project manager for details on how to reserve a spot on the boat for one of the field days. 

If you are interested in helping in this effort please feel free to contact the project manager, Wessley Merten, at (787) 436-8300 or wessley.merten@upr.edu for more information.  We need volunteers to accompany us in the field locating and removing debris, helping to install coastal trash cans, painting recycling bins and containers with students, and increasing the awareness about protecting our precious local resources.