MMT investigates change on CNMI’s reefs

If you have been living in the CNMI for many years, or know a man’amko, you’ve probably heard or even said something like the following: “You know, things used to be different here. When I was a kid, we used to be able to _____ (fill in the blank).” In fact, I just heard that sentiment earlier today at a meeting: “When I was 10, we used to drive down Beach Road, and we could stop anywhere and there would be schools of fish right by the beach. My dad would just throw a talaya and catch dinner.” Or how about this one? “There used to be healthy corals all over the lagoon! Now the lagoon is all seagrass and dead corals.” Meanwhile, tourists who come to the island see the reefs and the fish we have now, and think that we live in a pristine tropical paradise. This illustrates the concept of “shifting baselines.”

A baseline is a reference point from the past—how things used to be. It provides us with a way to evaluate how things have changed. Each of us has a different baseline depending on our age and the timing of our observations. It could be the large schools of fish in the lagoon in the early 1980s, or the healthy coral reefs at Lau Lau Bay in the late 1980s. In an ideal world, the baseline for any habitat would be what was there before humans had much impact. If we know the baseline for an ecosystem that has changed, we can do our best to restore it to what it was – to get back our schools of fish and our healthy reefs. However, if we allow these reference points to shift, we lose track of our standards, and eventually accept the degraded state as being “natural.” (See www.shiftingbaselines.org)

The CNMI’s Interagency Marine Monitoring Team works to understand our coral reef ecosystems and how they change over time. This change might be a result of natural impacts such as typhoons, or a result of human impacts such as pollution and runoff. The team, composed of members of the Division of Environmental Quality, the Coastal Resources Management Office, and the Division of Fish and Wildlife, regularly SCUBA dives on approximately 24 sites around Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. In addition, the MMT recently surveyed about 30 sites around the Northern Islands, and hopes to continue bi-annual surveys with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

So, just what exactly happens on these dives? Using underwater video, cameras, measuring tapes, and square quadrants, the team measures community composition and coverage—basically, what species of corals, algae, other invertebrates, and fish exist, and how much of each species is at each site. The MMT has repeated these studies yearly since 2000, and has data on how the reefs have changed over the last three to four years.

That’s all fine and good, but what about the changes that occurred before then, back from when you or your parents were kids? Fortunately, some historical data sets exist, including aerial photos of the island from 1944, a scientific study done in the 1950s, and several site-specific environmental impact assessments. Thus we actually have a baseline from that time and can look at what we see now in the context of what the reefs looked like back then. Of course, by that time humans had already had a pretty big impact on the reef, but without scientific data, we can only guess at what the truly “natural” state of the reef was.

Overall, the MMT has found that at many sites, marine communities have fluctuated naturally over the years. In certain areas however, such as in Lau Lau Bay, the Saipan lagoon, and Rota’s Talakaya region, degradation is occurring. (See http://www.deq.gov.mp/mmt/marinehome.htm). Over the course of the next few weeks and months, watch this space for more detailed updates on what’s happening to the reefs at various sites around the islands… starting with Rota, this week! Also watch for information about how you and others can get involved in marine monitoring efforts. And next time you see the MMT out on the CNMI’s waters, give them a big “Thank you lai!” for keeping an eye on our precious marine resources.

Errata: Last week I reported that one million people lack access to fresh water…that figure should have read one billion. (Qamar Schuyler)