The marine study being conducted by a team of federal and local scientists aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ship, Oscar Elton Sette, resulted in discoveries that reaffirm marine biodiversity in CNMI waters as far as the Northern Islands.
A preliminary report by the team has documented coral reef fish species found in Sarigan, Zealandia Bank, and Agrihan.
“Many of these species are new records for these islands, as very few previous surveys have been conducted at most of these islands. Many species were also present in the size ranges at which they recruit from the plankton, or as very young juveniles,” the team said.
Over black sand at the southwest shore of Agrihan, scientists observed wrasse, bronze razorfish-scientifically known as Xyrichtys celebicus-swimming in loose aggregations about 13 meters deep, according to the NOAA report.
NOAA said the species had only been previously reported from Calalan Bank on Guam and from a single specimen from the Bikini Lagoon.
According to the team, the total number of species observed at Sarigan reached 172; Zealandia Bank, 127; Pagan, 161; and Agrihan, 177. Before the mission, previous documentation on the number of coral reef fish for these locations were 80, 66, 185 and 124, respectively.
Saipan ad Tinian had been surveyed prior to the cruise, yielding 598 and 299 fish species based on previous studies.
“In general, sharks and reef-associated apex predators were rare, although more common north of Saipan. Grey reef sharks, (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), reef whitetip sharks (Triaenodon obesus), reef blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and tawny nurse sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus) were the only species of sharks observed by the Fish Team,” stated the NOAA report.
“In general, large fish appeared to be rare, and in much lower densities than the NWHI and Line and Phoenix Islands, although a site at Agrihan Island yielded the highest diversity thus far, including a wide variety of surgeon and unicorn fish, as well as large individuals of the groupers Cephalopholis argus and Epinephelus fasciatus,” it added.
In early June, the CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources described the Commonwealth's marine resources as diverse, as it disclosed the discovery of eight fish species that has not been previously named by scientists anywhere in the world.
The eight were among the 95 species of reef fish that were newly documented in a study conducted by the agency in May, which then brought the total number of documented fish species in the CNMI to about 1,045. The DLNR estimates around 1,200 fish species on local waters.
Three of the eight newly discovered fish species belong to the Eviota genus, two others belong to Enneapterygins, while the remaining three each belong to Trimma, Dinematichthys and Helcogramma.
The DLNR study also resulted in the capture of an eel measuring a foot-and-a-half, the biggest collected so far in scientific studies in the CNMI. A total of 49 out of the 95 newly discovered species on Saipan was not immediately expected to be found in the Marianas.
The 224-foot Oscar Elton Sette departed Saipan last August 22 to begin its scientific mission throughout the Marianas.
NOAA's Coral Reef Ecosystem Division chief, Dr. Russell E. Brainard, leads some 20 scientists, including those from the divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Environmental Quality and the Coral Resources Management Office. Scientists from the universities of Guam, Hawaii and Florida form part of the scientific mission.
The cruise, which would last for over a month, was intended for an extensive marine study in the Marianas, which would focus on fish and coral reef diversity and underwater geology, among others.
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