Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Encyclopedia
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a national marine sanctuary in American Samoa
. It is the smallest, yet one of the most important, marine sanctuaries as it is home to more fish
and marine mammals than any other marine sanctuary. It also provides a natural food source for shark
s and other predators of the ocean
.
ecosystem
nestled within an eroded volcanic crater on the island of Tutuila
, American Samoa
. This smallest and most remote of all the National Marine Sanctuaries is the only true tropical reef in the program. Hence, while it is one of the most protected and beautiful, it also bears the scars of some recent and severe natural disasters.
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is completely contained in the 0.25 square mile (0.6474970275 km²) of the bay. The land surrounding the bay resides in the hands of the families who have lived near the bays slopes for thousands of years. Fortunately, there is little development in the watershed and the one reliable stream that empties near the beach runs clear and clean.
Fagatele Bay is a vibrant tropical reef marine ecosystem, filled with all sorts of brightly-colored tropical fish including parrot fish, damselfish
and butterfly fish, as well as other sea creatures like lobster
, crab
s, shark
s and octopus
. From June to September, southern humpback whale
s migrate north from Antarctica to calve and court in Samoan waters. Visitors can hear courting males sing whale song
s, which the whales may be using to attract mates. Several species of dolphin
, as well as threatened and endangered species of sea turtle
s, such as the hawksbill and green sea turtle
, are frequently seen swimming in the bay as well. Recreational activities such as diving, snorkeling, and fishing can be enjoyed at Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
The National Marine Sanctuary Program protects and preserves nature and local culture. The program is found in areas of special significance such as the oceans and Great Lakes of the United States. There are 14 sanctuaries in the program ranging from Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod to the Channel Islands in southern California. All manage their precious resources through a combination of education, research, long-term monitoring, regulation and enforcement.
Many different types of fish call this reef home, and as such, many biologists and marine researchers attempt to correlate with the local government in an effort to find new species within the local waters. Many new species have been found, but as it is a marine sanctuary, fish or other marine animals cannot be removed from the ecosystem. Scientists, headed up by Dr. Charles Birkenland, used this natural disaster as a focus of their long-term research: to follow the recovery of a coral reef. Because corals grow slowly, the research team chose a multi-year cycle of data collection. Beginning in 1985, and again in 1988, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004, the team amassed information on coral, fishes, invertebrates and marine plants. This database is unique for Samoa and the study is one of the few long-running surveys of its type in the world
The sanctuary makes a special effort to work with the American Samoan community with outreach programs for all ages. The sanctuary co-sponsors a summer environmental education program for 9- to 12-year-old children. These programs explore the marine life in the bay, including ancient reef-dwellers and solar-powered clams, teaching ways to protect the resources there. Samoan cultural events and general community outreach/education programs are also run year-round.
The sanctuary also provides guided tours of the area, allows any and every student to come on fieldtrips, for which they provide educational guides. They also give emphasis on the cultural aspects of the reefs and the wildlife so as to combine ones culture with the scientific knowledge that is so neccisary to them. They also help the local education by organising projects that the High schoolers on the island can take part in to further emphasis the necessity of the National Marine Sanctuary.
volunteers assist the outreach program. Staff members are American Samoa Government employees based in Pago Pago, Samoa and operate through a cooperative agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and American Samoa's Economic and Development Planning Office, as well as the National Marine Sanctuary Association (NMSA). The volunteers typically work for 3 months and then take the rest of the time off, but a volunteer can work enough to become a paid worker for the NMSA or even take a Manager position at another Marine Sanctuary.
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. It is the smallest, yet one of the most important, marine sanctuaries as it is home to more fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and marine mammals than any other marine sanctuary. It also provides a natural food source for shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s and other predators of the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
.
Description
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary comprises a fringing coral reefCoral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
nestled within an eroded volcanic crater on the island of Tutuila
Tutuila
Tutuila is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Australia and over northeast of Fiji. It contains a large, natural harbor,...
, American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. This smallest and most remote of all the National Marine Sanctuaries is the only true tropical reef in the program. Hence, while it is one of the most protected and beautiful, it also bears the scars of some recent and severe natural disasters.
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is completely contained in the 0.25 square mile (0.6474970275 km²) of the bay. The land surrounding the bay resides in the hands of the families who have lived near the bays slopes for thousands of years. Fortunately, there is little development in the watershed and the one reliable stream that empties near the beach runs clear and clean.
Fagatele Bay is a vibrant tropical reef marine ecosystem, filled with all sorts of brightly-colored tropical fish including parrot fish, damselfish
Damselfish
Damselfish comprise the family Pomacentridae except those of the genera Amphiprion and Premnas. They can grow up to long. While most are marine, a few species inhabit the lower stretches of rivers in freshwater. Damselfish usually have bright colors. in tropical coral reefs, and many of those are...
and butterfly fish, as well as other sea creatures like lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
, crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s and octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
. From June to September, southern humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
s migrate north from Antarctica to calve and court in Samoan waters. Visitors can hear courting males sing whale song
Whale song
Whale sounds are the sounds made by whales and which are used for different kinds of communication.The word "song" is used to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sounds made by some species of whales, notably the Humpback Whale...
s, which the whales may be using to attract mates. Several species of dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
, as well as threatened and endangered species of sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s, such as the hawksbill and green sea turtle
Green Sea Turtle
The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
, are frequently seen swimming in the bay as well. Recreational activities such as diving, snorkeling, and fishing can be enjoyed at Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Fagatele Bay as a Marine Sanctuary
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1986 in response to a proposal from the American Samoa Government to the National Marine Sanctuary Program. The National Marine Sanctuary Program supports research in all of its 14 sites. Research plays a role in management by supplying information needed to make resource protection decisions based on hard scientific data. Fagatele Bay's most important research project spans over a decade. In the late 1970s, millions of Acanthaster planci or crown-of-thorns starfish (alamea), a coral eating animal, ate their way through Tutuila's reefs. More than 90 percent of all the living corals were destroyed. At the time, Fagatele Bay was not a National Marine Sanctuary, but this disaster propelled the decision for the site's designation.The National Marine Sanctuary Program protects and preserves nature and local culture. The program is found in areas of special significance such as the oceans and Great Lakes of the United States. There are 14 sanctuaries in the program ranging from Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod to the Channel Islands in southern California. All manage their precious resources through a combination of education, research, long-term monitoring, regulation and enforcement.
Many different types of fish call this reef home, and as such, many biologists and marine researchers attempt to correlate with the local government in an effort to find new species within the local waters. Many new species have been found, but as it is a marine sanctuary, fish or other marine animals cannot be removed from the ecosystem. Scientists, headed up by Dr. Charles Birkenland, used this natural disaster as a focus of their long-term research: to follow the recovery of a coral reef. Because corals grow slowly, the research team chose a multi-year cycle of data collection. Beginning in 1985, and again in 1988, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004, the team amassed information on coral, fishes, invertebrates and marine plants. This database is unique for Samoa and the study is one of the few long-running surveys of its type in the world
Education
The sanctuary sponsors education programs, such as the EnviroDiscoveries Camp, which is an outdoor activity and learning camp for 9 to 12 year olds. Scientific programs range from a continuing resource assessment survey, begun in 1985, to coral reef monitoring. Sanctuary regulations prohibit taking invertebrates and sea turtles, as well as historical artifacts. Only traditional fishing methods are permitted in the inner bay.The sanctuary makes a special effort to work with the American Samoan community with outreach programs for all ages. The sanctuary co-sponsors a summer environmental education program for 9- to 12-year-old children. These programs explore the marine life in the bay, including ancient reef-dwellers and solar-powered clams, teaching ways to protect the resources there. Samoan cultural events and general community outreach/education programs are also run year-round.
The sanctuary also provides guided tours of the area, allows any and every student to come on fieldtrips, for which they provide educational guides. They also give emphasis on the cultural aspects of the reefs and the wildlife so as to combine ones culture with the scientific knowledge that is so neccisary to them. They also help the local education by organising projects that the High schoolers on the island can take part in to further emphasis the necessity of the National Marine Sanctuary.
Animals
- Grouper: Cephalopholis or Epinephelus
- Parrot fish: Bolbometopon muricatum, Leptoscarus viagiensis, Sparisoma viride, Scarus iseri, and Sparisoma cretense
- Damselfish: Chromis chromis
- Butterfly fish: Chaetodon lineolatus, Chaetodon lunula
- Southern humpback whales: Megaptera
- Dolphin: Delphinus capensis, Tursiops truncatus, Stenella longirostris, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens,
- Hawksbill sea turtle: Eretmochelys imbricata
- Green sea turtle: Chelonia mydas
- Starfish: Acanthaster planci, Linckia laevigata
Staff
Nancy Daschbach is Fagatele Bay's on-site manager. AmericorpsAmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
volunteers assist the outreach program. Staff members are American Samoa Government employees based in Pago Pago, Samoa and operate through a cooperative agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and American Samoa's Economic and Development Planning Office, as well as the National Marine Sanctuary Association (NMSA). The volunteers typically work for 3 months and then take the rest of the time off, but a volunteer can work enough to become a paid worker for the NMSA or even take a Manager position at another Marine Sanctuary.