Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Day 2 Rincon; Surveying and Removing Debris in the RMTP

January 11th 2012 - Marine Debris Removal Resumes in RMTP


        The morning crew.  Pictured L to R (James Sethward (PR), Adrian Massie (RI), Brendan Crawford (RI), Ky Plamondon (RI)).  This crew helped locate and remove 4 tires, a car battery, some cable and plastic debris.  Thanks fellas!

The afternoon crew.  Pictured L to R (Adam Steinman (ME), Theo Steinman (ME), and Jessa Steinman (ME)).  This crew helped us remove 4 tires previously located by the am crew.  Adam and I also scuba dove along a reef break and collected copious amounts of plastic debris.  Thanks for the hard work crew!

The diagram above depicts the location and type of debris the volunteers found and removed on 1.11.12.  The size of the symbols is not to scale.

The white dots in the diagram above depict the boat survey track that volunteers took aboard Captain Pauco Font's vessel while tow-boarding to locate the debris. 

Adrian Massie points out a tire debris field as he tow-boards in Reserva Marina Tres Palmas on 1.11.12

Adam Steinman, pictured here, places another piece of plastic debris in his bag as we dove along the reef in RMTP on 1.11.12


Outing Summary

Today was a great day on the water in the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve.  We had a total of 8 volunteers participate in the day's activities.  The morning crew was Adrian Massie, Brendan Crawford, Ky Plamondon, and James Sethward, with the pm crew being Adam Steinman, Theo Steinman, Jessa Steinman, and Terry Norman.  Between both crews, we managed to remove 8 tires, a car battery, clothing, a bag full of plastic debris, and mark more debris to be removed in our next outing.  The weather conditions were pleasant making for an enjoyable day on the water.  The near-shore visibility was good (~50') and made tow-boarding a lot of fun and effective in locating debris.   

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.