Bermuda BREAM

Turtles survive horrific boat strikes By Amanda Dale Royal Gazette Monday March 30, 2009 Tough turtle: Mark Outerbridge and Patrick Talbot remove barnacles and algae from a boat struck Green Turtle which was found in Jews Bay on Wednesday. The turtle is missing a large portion of shell but is still alive. Photo: Mark Tatem Boat users are being urged to slow down after two more injured turtles were recovered from the water this week.Both Green Turtles are both lucky to be alive, according to Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) head aquarist Patrick Talbot. The first was found floating in Jews Bay and the second was recovered from St. George's Harbour."We are amazed they are still alive," said Mr. Talbot.The turtles are now being rehabilitated at BAMZ, but need daily care to clean out their wounds. The first, estimated at between 20 and 30 years old, was spotted by a member of the public on Wednesday in Jews Bay. The turtle was severely injured and Bermuda Turtle Projec...

By: Jessie Hallett - BZS Two views across The Lagoon at Ireland Island showing the fringing mangroves and neighbouring seagrass habitats. These natural areas are critical habitat for juvenile snappers and grunts which eventually leave and live as adults out on the coral reefs. While we tend to think of marine habitat restoration as something modern – I have found two instances where healthy mangrove forest were created over decades and centuries ago. During the last few months, I have been comparing extant marine and coastal habitats around Bermuda to those that were present two hundred years ago. I have been doing this by comparing recent aerial photos of the coast and reefs to the same areas charted by Thomas Hurd between 1788 and 1797. Throughout my work, I have been striving to determine what changes have occurred to these habitats, whether the changes have benefited the environment or not, and whether they are natural or anthropogenic. While in many cases, the environmental chan...

BREAM Scientist Dr. Thad Murdoch prepares finger corals for attachment on the reef being restored. BREAM and the Bermuda Government Department of Conservation Services have been working together to transplant corals from an old sunken barge at Dockyard to restore a nearby coral reef damaged by a cruise ship grounding in 2006. The 100-yr old wreck of one of the barges used to build the King's Wharf at Dockyard is located next to the new cruise ship pier. An RG article about the wreck can be read here: link . While the wreck is deep enough to be left in place, except for a single spindle, or mast, the corals on the wreck are likely to be damaged by the currents generated by the ships' propellors and by the silt they kick up each time the ships approach or leave the pier. For this reason we felt it best to remove the corals. The most suitable place to transplant the corals is the nearby reef that was struck by the Nordic Crown in 2006 [ link ]. With the use of Conservation Servic...