Day 4: Spring Cleaning in Tres Palmas

On Wednesday, March 21st, 2012, two RMTP debris survey and removal outings were conducted with 2 different crews.  In the morning, the Bierce's from Ohio removed a total of 3 tires, with the afternoon crew removing 6 more.  During the morning outing David, Tom, and Cassidy accompanied me on a dive of the NW corner of the marine reserve.  We surveyed a nice portion of the area and did not find any debris.  The reef appears healthy and fish populations are beginning to slowly rebound.

The afternoon crew, Scott Cotner, Kendra Engstrom, and Celeste Pawol helped remove 6 tires, a derelict anchor, plastic debris, old rope, and boat debris.  All of these items were removed from the sandy area offshore from the shoreline reef that stretches from Calle Surf to the Black Eagle Marina.

The deepest part of the marine reserve, the northwest corner, is a bustling reef habitat with hard and soft corals, sponges, schools of fish, and an abundance of invertebrates.  

Under a ledge this mixture of grunts, parrotfish, snappers, and tangs take shelter for the day.

The Bierce's were stoked to help out!

 

The afternoon crew worked hard to remove 6 medium-sized tires and a host of other items off of the substrate.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Aquatic Art Exhibit Opens

en español

The Rincon of the Seas Hotel lobby came alive with 39 colorful aquatic paintings during the student art opening on June 25, 2009. The talented artists, all junior high school and high school students from Rincon, brought their friends and family that evening to enjoy the unique art, appetizers, the "Porta Coeli Jazz" band, and the launching of a coral reef lesson book created with their art.

The bright canvases are hung along the hotel lobby's walls beautifying it and giving a positive environmental message to the community. All the students in the exhibit had attended two all-day workshops on coral reef lessons, ocean conservation, and painting in March. The ocean-themed paintings they produced during the workshops were weaved into a coral reef lesson book which was handed out at the exhibit to all who attended.

This project sponsored by Surfrider Foundation and NOAA's Marine Debris Program is the educational component of the ambitious community driven program "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal at Reserva Marina Tres Palmas," where more than 475 tires have been removed in the last 2 years, among other debris.

If you haven't seen the show it will be up until July 9. You can pick up a copy of the book at the hotel front desk.

Everyone enjoyed the wonderful live jazz provided by "Porta Coeli Jazz" from San German, we thank them. Many thanks to Rincon of the Seas who sponsored the exhibit and the appetizers. Special thanks to Arnaldo Ruiz, Lizandra Ayala, Victor, and front desk staff at the hotel. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make this happen, specially the students and their family. Thanks to Leon and Ali Richter for handling the book printing efforts.

If you are a business owner, teacher, or school and want copies of the book (while supplies last) to hand out contact us at 787 823 2784.

AB

Apertura Exhibición Arte Acuático

English Version

El lobby del Rincón of the Seas se anima con 39 coloridas pinturas acuáticas durante la apertura del arte estudiantil el 25 de junio, 2009. Los talentosos artistas, todos estudiantes de escuela intermedia y superior de Rincón, invitaron a sus amistades y familiares a disfrutar de una velada de arte original, aperitivos, jazz en vivo de la banda Porta Coeli Jazz, y el lanzamiento de un libro de lecciones de coral creado con su arte.

Los brillantes lienzos se muestran en las paredes del lobby del hotel embelleciéndolo y dándole un mensaje positivo a la comunidad. Todos los estudiantes de la exhibición participaron en dos talleres sobre lecciones de coral, conservación del océano, y pintura en marzo. Las pinturas de temas marítimos que fueron producidas durante estos talleres se hilvanaron en un libro de lecciones de arrecifes de coral el cual se repartió en la exhibición a todo el público presente.

Este proyecto auspiciado por Surfrider Foundation y NOAA Marine Debris Program es el componente educativo del ambicioso programa de autogestión comunitaria “Protección de los Arrecifes de Coral a través de Eliminación de Desechos Marinos en la Reserva Marina Tres Palmas” el cual ha logrado extraer más de 475 gomas de la Reserva Marina Tres Palmas en los últimos 2 años, entre otros desperdicios.

Si aun no haz visto la muestra estará hasta el 9 de julio. Puedes recoger tu copia del libro en la recepción del hotel.

Todos disfrutaron del maravilloso jazz amenizado por Porta Coeli Jazz de San German, les damos las gracias. Muchas gracias al hotel Rincón of the Seas por auspiciar esta exhibición y los aperitivos. Agradecemos en especial a Arnaldo Ruiz, Lizandra Ayala, Victor, y el personal de recepción del hotel. Gracias a todos los que participaron e hicieron que este esfuerzo se lograse, en especial a los estudiantes y sus familiares. Gracias a Leon y Ali Richter por manejar el esfuerzo de la impresión del libro.

Si eres dueño de negocio, maestro, o escuela y quieres copias del libro (mientras duren) para distribución contáctanos al 787 823 2784.

AB

Finalization of the 2008/09 Coral Reef Project

Finalization of the 2008/09 Coral Reef Project

6 12 2009

Recently, Captain Pauco and I monitored the area we covered during this past years marine debris removal and coral reef restoration project and found more debris. Though the frequency of discovery of the debris was reduced we still managed to find 12 tires, 7 areas of cable/rope, a derelict trap, a battery, and some clothing smothering corals. We think that these tires may have been uncovered by currents and wave activity shifting the sediments and revealing the debris during this past spring. Other items may have been brought in by currents, overlooked previously, or dumped recently illegally. To report any illegal dumping of marine debris around Puerto Rico please call the Department of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance (Cuerpo de Vigilantes) at 1-787-999-2200.