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    • Oculina Habitat Area of Concern Assessment

    Metadata Updated: April 1, 2024

    Scientists and students will be exploring the deepwater coral reefs of the Oculina Banks, which stretch 30 miles offshore from Ft. Pierce to Cape Canaveral. This remote area includes the East Coast's first Marine Protected Area (MPA) which is a model for efforts underway to create new MPAs throughout southeast U.S. waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The team will use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to study the current health of coral on the banks, which has been decimated in places by commercial trawling. They will also test an acoustic monitoring system that could one day be used to not only monitor fish behavior but also to detect illegal fishing activity on the reefsscientists and students will be exploring the deepwater coral reefs of the Oculina Banks, which stretch 30 miles offshore from Ft. Pierce to Cape Canaveral. This remote area includes the East Coast's first Marine Protected Area (MPA) which is a model for efforts underway to create new MPAs throughout southeast U.S. waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The team will use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to study the current health of coral on the banks, which has been decimated in places by commercial trawling. They will also test an acoustic monitoring system that could one day be used to not only monitor fish behavior but also to detect illegal fishing activity on the reefs

    Scientists on the Oculina cruise will also be deploying a Passive Acoustic Monitoring System (PAMS) developed by NASA to monitor the impacts of rocket launches on wildlife refuge lagoons at the Kennedy Space Center. Led by Dr. Grant Gilmore, Dynamac Corporation, they will test the system's suitability for detecting offshore fish populations and vessel traffic. PAMS uses technology similar to that which allows the Navy to detect ships and submarines. Scientists from NASA Kennedy Space Center and NOAA Fisheries will join Dr. Gilmore specifically to see if the unit can be used to detect the presence of specific fish species and behaviors such as courtship and spawning aggregation. If so, the system could dramatically increase monitoring capabilities at the remote reefs.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
    Reference Date(s) December 31, 2002 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS SEFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
    Reference Date(s) December 31, 2002 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:32995
    Access Constraints Cite As: Southeast Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Oculina Habitat Area of Concern Assessment [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32995., Access Constraints: NOAA Data Quality Act Documentation and Pre-Dissemination guidelines, Use Constraints: Data set is not for use in litigation. While efforts have been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages or misrepresentations caused by inaccuracies in these data, or as a result of these data being used on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does distribution constitute any such warranty, Distribution Liability: None
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Harvest Object Id b239ee9d-1cc9-4182-aec3-0eaed3f60f97
    Harvest Source Id ca759a40-507d-4d0c-8f8c-64b3c5e05066
    Harvest Source Title NMFS SEFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage The data is collected and then verified
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2001
    Temporal Extent End 2005

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