Saba Bank Special Marine Area Management Plan 2008 Shelley Lundvall Special Area Management Plan Saba Bank Special Marine Area Management Plan 2008 Cover photo by Jan den Dulk: Hawksbill Turtle on unidentified shipwreck in the middle of the Saba Bank 2 Contents LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 4 FOREWORD ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 HOW TO USE THE SABA BANK MARINE MANAGEMENT PLAN ........................................................................................................... 7 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 PART 1: SABA BANK BACKGROUND INFORMATION ........................................................................................................ 11 LOCATION AND SITUATION .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................. 17 MARINE HABITATS, FLORA AND FAUNA, AND NATURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................... 18 HUMAN USES .................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 CRITICAL THREATS TO THE SABA BANK ......................................................................................................................................... 28 PART 2 – MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................................ 33 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................... 34 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE AND VALUES ................................................................................................................................... 35 VISION, MISSION AND GOALS ......................................................................................................................................................... 38 GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................................................................. 50 HUMAN RESOURCES ....................................................................................................................................................................... 50 PHYSICAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 FINANCE ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 STAKEHOLDERS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 54 SUMMARY OF ISSUES ....................................................................................................................................................................... 56 PART 3. MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 60 KEY ISSUES AND ACTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 61 EXTERNAL ISSUES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 61 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................................................. 70 IMPLEMENTATION AND REVISIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 72 PART 4: ADDITIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS. ........................................................................................................................ 73 APPENDIX A: LIST OF MACROALGAE SPECIES ................................................................................................................ 75 APPENDIX B: LIST OF FISH SPECIES ..................................................................................................................................... 80 APPENDIX C: LIST OF GORGONIAN SPECIES ..................................................................................................................... 88 APPENDIX D: STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................... 90 Special Area Management Plan LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Red snapper are the second most commercially important fisheries for Saba. ..................... 24 Table 2: IUCN Red List Species found on the Saba Bank. ............................................................. 28 Table 3: IUCN Red List Species found on or adjacent to the Saba Bank. ......................................... 37 Table 4: International treaties and conventions relevant to the Saba Bank. .................................... 50 Table 5: Budget for Saba Bank Management Organization. .......................................................... 54 Table 6: Stakeholders of Saba Bank Management Organization. ................................................... 54 Table 7: Stakeholder consultation methods. ............................................................................... 55 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Mixed reef dominated by gorgonians, with sponges, hard corals, and algae. ...................... 11 Figure 2: location of the Saba Bank .......................................................................................... 12 Figure 3: Maritime zones, showing the territorial waters (12 nautical miles zone) of Saba including about 20% of the Saba Bank, and the EEZ waters encompassing the remaining 80%. ................ 13 Figure 4: The Antilles Current transports tropical waters from the North Equatorial Current north- westward. It is a significant source of warm water for the Gulf Stream system. ......................... 14 Figure 5: The Caribbean current is formed by waters flowing though the Antilles Island chain from the Atlantic into the Caribbean sea. .......................................................................................... 14 Figure 6. Bathymetric chart of the Saba Bank, and the Overall Bank study area. ............................. 16 Figure 7. Depth profile from high resolution bathymetric data in the “Overall Bank” area on the Eastern edge of the Saba Bank. ..................................................................................................... 17 Figure 8. Tiger sharks are quite common on the Saba Bank. ........................................................ 20 Figure 9. Typical habitat of the fore reef slope. Complex hard bottom reef structure with high vertical relief, coral cover is highest in this area. .............................................................................. 20 Figure 10. Inner reef flat zone with low relief and hard “pavement” areas. ..................................... 21 Figure 11. A rare patch of juvenile Queen Conch ........................................................................ 21 Figure 12. A new species of Sargassum found on the Saba Bank, one of many new species of macro- algae found. (Source: D. Littler) ......................................................................................... 22 Figure 13 and Figure 14: Area known as Twin Peaks in July ’07 (l) and Jan ’08 (r). .......................... 22 Figure 15. A typical commercial fishing vessel used for trap fishing on Saba Bank. Note the davit and hydraulic wench mounted to port side behind the wheelhouse. ................................................ 24 Figure 16. The most important fisheries