Bermuda BREAM

Porgy (12" length) Hogfish (18" length) Noticed a small fish "die-off" or mortality event on Sunday at Salt Kettle in Hamilton Harbour. Have heard others were seen at Baileys Bay and Dockyard. Will post the contact should you see several dead fish shortly.

A large moon jelly ( Aurelia aurita ) [(c) 2006 T. Murdoch] Research at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, my alma mater, indicates that jellyfish produce more young jellyfish during colder winters, and that this causes larger blooms of adult jellyfish in the summer. Bermuda had a particularly cold winter ( NOAA water temperature graph ), and perhaps this means Bermuda will have a particularly dense accumulation of moon jellies this summer. You can read the article here - link

Here is a link to "A Strategy for the Sustainable Use of Bermuda's Living Marine Resources" [pdf] Department of Environmental Protection Ministry of Environment and Sport Bermuda Government

Staff: Chief Scientist: Thaddeus J. T. Murdoch, PhD Laboratory Manager: Jessie Hallett, BSc Dive Safety Officer: Robert Fisher, BFA, PADI dive instructor Volunteers: Ian Murdoch; Judie Clee; Jamie Rosser; Peter Hopkin Interns 2009: ACP: Brittany Huntington (RSMAS); Anke Moesinger (DISL) OTEP: Katherine Yates (York) GSEP: Claire Grenfell Visiting Scientists Matt Ajemian, Dauphin Island Sea Lab (BZS: Clee fellowship) Brief Summary Headed by Bermudian Dr. Thaddeus Murdoch, the BREAM: (Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping) Programme exists to produce and support multidisciplinary studies of Bermuda’s marine environment and to promote its care. Key to these endeavors is the use of rigorous assessment methodologies, data management, statistical analysis, and habitat mapping using geographic information systems (GIS). BREAM projects in 2009 to date include: · OTEP-funded assessment of most Buoyed Dive Site MPAs · Coral transplantation from wreck near Heritage Wharf, Dockyard · Basel...