projects, especially ocean exploration. How else, 

 he asks rhetorically, can the public begin to 

 understand a realm of life that they cannot see? 



Earlier in the mission, NASA media 

 specialists facilitated a live webcast. Leslie 

 Sautter, director of NOAA's Project Oceanica at 

 the College of Charleston, hosted three, one- 

 hour segments. Each ended in a question and 

 answer session, with mission team members 

 answering electronic queries from students on 

 the mainland. 



Dewey Golub, Oceanica' s educator- writer 

 and Web specialist, posts daily logs and images 

 from the mission on a dedicated Web site, 

 www.oceanica.org. 



The Oculina Banks research demonstrates 

 that marine science is a very integrated 

 discipline, Sautter says. 



Sautter, a geologist and educator, is 

 directing the collection of sediment samples. 

 An apparatus is lowered from the ship to scoop 

 up sediment from various sites. She will analyze 

 the samples with Cathy Scanlon, of Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution, in search of tiny 

 shelled zooplankton called forams. 



"We will be looking for a genus that 

 dominates each environment. We expect that 

 they will be very different from site to site," she 

 says. A map plotting the results will become part 

 of the baseline data on Oculina Banks. Shifts in 

 predominant genera could be environmental 

 indicators, she says. 



Jumping hurdles 



Even the best-planned mission can present 

 unexpected hurdles. The ship develops 

 problems, and the entire cohort transfers to M/V 

 Freedom Star, a NASA sister ship maintained 

 by United Space Alliance. 



The ROV floods two additional times. 

 But, frantic repair work keeps the dive schedule 

 on target, ensuring enough time to test the 

 PAMS technology. For that, the ship steams 

 out of reserve to an area near Sebastian Inlet at 

 more shallow ocean depths. 



Without a hitch, NASA divers position 

 three PAMS units on the bottom, about 100 feet 

 apart. Gilmore, now part of the Dynamac/NASA 

 research team, helped develop the technology to 

 monitor shuttle launch noise in the lagoons and 

 wildlife refuge surrounding the Kennedy Space 

 Center. 



Now, for two days and nights the units will 

 listen and record fish sounds — each with a 



distinct voiceprint. The black drum lives up to 

 his name, producing the steady beat of a bongo 

 drum. Other fish sounds are not as recognizable 

 to an untrained ear. Gilmore and colleagues will 

 analyze the recordings. 



Like humans, most fish make sounds 

 during social interaction. Distinguishing 

 spawning males calling to females is valuable 

 for fishery management decisions, Gilmore 

 explains. It is critical to know when spawning 

 occurs in order to protect the fishery. 



"If they don't live long enough to spawn, 

 there will be no fish," Gilmore says. 



Mission accomplished 



With all objectives met, Shepard and 

 Reed can safely say, "Mission accomplished." 

 In 10 days, 23 ROV dives produce 40 hours of 

 underwater videotape and 2,000 digital still shots 

 to add to the accumulating scientific data. 



The images also provide convincing 

 evidence of illegal fishing activities in the 

 OHAPC. Enforcement, they say, clearly is an 

 issue for the fisheries council to tackle. 



The scientists welcome the news that the 

 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is 

 recommending that the Department of 

 Commerce continue the ban on bottom-gear in 

 the original 92-square-mile research reserve 

 until 2014. The closure of this segment within 

 the larger OHAPC was scheduled to sunset in 

 2004 if not renewed. 



In addition, NOAA Fisheries Law 

 Enforcement promises to step up efforts in the 

 closed area. A vessel-monitoring system may be 

 deployed on shrimp trawlers in the region. 



Reed, Shepard and Koenig submitted 

 scientific data from the 2001 research mission 

 prior to the fisheries council meeting taking up 

 the reserve status. 



Koenig joined 60 others expressing 

 opinions in person. Speaking out, he says, helps 

 give the scientific point of view public exposure 

 and underscores the ecological value of Oculina 

 Banks. 



Public exposure of Oculina Banks is 

 critical. If no one knows about it, no one can 

 respond to the need to continue its protection, 

 he says. 



Perhaps media attention to the 2003 

 mission was a factor. But, Koenig was 

 pleasantly surprised to hear support for the 

 experimental reserve from many in the 

 commercial fishing arena 



Photos by Pam Smith 



TOP: Robert Brock, John Reed and Andy Shepard 

 check coordinates for ROV dives on Oculina Banks. 

 BOTTOM: Reed and Lance Horn intently watch the 

 monitor as the ROV flies over the deepwater coral 

 reef to document the status of the coral habitat and 

 fish populations. 



"They are beginning to understand that an 

 MPA makes a good neighbor — especially in 

 the Gulf Stream, where strong currents can 

 carry the larvae of spawning fish well beyond 

 MPA boundaries," says Koenig. 



This understanding, Shepard adds, can 

 and should provide a scientific foundation for 

 selecting future marine protected areas. Six of 

 the council's candidate MPA sites, like the 

 Oculina Banks, are on the high seas, beneath the 

 Gulf Stream. □ 



Look for an upcoming publication focusing 

 on Marine Protected Areas. Tiiis MPA primer — 

 meant to contribute to productive regional 

 discussion — is a collaborative effort by the 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and 

 Florida Sea Grant programs. 



To learn more about Oculina Banks and 

 MPAs, go to: www.uncwil.edu/nurc, 

 www.oceanica.org, and www.mpa.gov. 



The South Atlantic Marine Fisheries 

 Management Council is expected to hold a 

 series of public meetings later this year to 

 consider candidate MPA sites in the region. 



COASTWATCH 19 



