North-East Tobago Marine Protected Area

 

Location

The proposed pilot North-East Tobago Marine PA (MPA), shown in the map below, covers an estimated 59,280 ha, extending along the entire coastal strip from Roxborough on the north-east coast, north to Parlatuvier on the north-west coast and extending seawards for 6 nautical miles (11.1 km).

The proposed marine protected area encompasses several large coral reef formations, Little Tobago Island, Goat Island, St. Giles Islands and numerous Rocks, such as the Sisters and Brothers Rocks. Bays that are within this site include King’s Bay, Tyrrel’s Bay, Man-of-War Bay and Bloody Bay.

 

MAP

Legal designations

On 19 July 1979, the fifth largest oil spill on record and the largest ship-based spill, Atlantic Empress collided with the Aegean Captain, another fully laden Greek supertanker, 18 miles east of the island of Tobago. 

Socio-economic descriptions

The coral reefs and off-shore islands within this proposed marine protected area are currently the focus of ecotourism in the form of glass bottom boat tours, turtle watching, bird watching, sport fishing, scuba diving (Wothke, 2013).

Subsistence and commercial fishing in the proposed MPA is an important activity for the coastal communities.

Ecological Notes

  • This is an ecologically complex site including terrestrial sites as well as marine benthic and open-water ecosystems.
  • This proposed marine protected area hosts a significant proportion of Tobago’s coral reefs, including those at Man-o-war Bay and Speyside.
  • These coral systems host a diverse ecosystem with representation from several globally threatened species including Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis), Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), brain corals (Montastraea sp.) and Hawks-billed turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata).
  • The offshore islands are critical for avian biodiversity, serving as important regional breeding habitats for seabird species such as:
    Audubon’s shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri), Red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), Brown booby (Sula leucogaster), Red-footed booby (S. sula), Magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), Sooty tern (Sterna fuscata) and Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) (Devenish et al., 2009).

Management

While this is a proposed protected area, the Division of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and the Environment (DAMME), and the Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries of the Tobago House of Assembly are responsible for sustainable management of natural resources in Tobago.

The Institute of Marine Affairs has also developed management plans for the Speyside area and is leading Integrated Coastal Zone Management efforts, which will be of benefit to the proposed site.

The Ministry of Planning and Development, Environmental Management Authority (EMA) has legal responsibility for coordination of environmental management functions and the Commissioner of State Lands has power to designate other agencies to manage all State lands inclusive of the sea bed, under the State Lands Act.

Key threats and challenges

Due to its size, ecological diversity, historical human uses and proximity to coastal population centers, this site is subject to several potential threats:

  • Widespread overfishing of reefs has also removed many of the herbivorous fish, upsetting the competitive balance between corals and seaweeds, often leading to a fundamental change in the community (Armstrong et al., 2009).
  • Drastic declines in the coral cover in Tobago’s reef systems have been reported in recent years (from 22% in 2005 to 16% in 2008 and many sites are showing less than 5% live hard coral cover) (D’abadie, 2011). The health of Tobago’s coral reefs is declining. (van Bochove and McVee, 2012)
  • The anthropogenic threats to Tobago’s coral reefs include land and marine-based pollution, coastal development, sedimentation, nitrification, overfishing and unsustainable tourism (van Bochove and McVee, 2011)
  • Climate change related occurrences such as hurricanes and tropical storms and coral bleaching as occurred in 2005 and 2010, are significant threats to biodiversity at this PA (van Bochove and McVee, 2011).
  • Coral disease incidents have been closely linked to thermal stresses such as those due to rising sea temperatures which coincided with the local disease outbreaks to Tobago’s corals following the bleaching events.
  • The highly invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans) has been established in NE Tobago and can potentially cause significant harm to the marine ecology of the area (Albins and Hixon, 2011)
  • Sedimentation due to coastal development, deforestation and increased sediment loading from the Orinoco and Amazon River system are a threat to the PA’s coral systems. These issues are magnified in Tobago where steep sloping hills lead to an increase in runoff into marine ecosystems (Burke and Maidens 2004; van Bochove and McVee, 2011)
  • On the offshore islands, poaching of the seabirds is an important threat to the birds at this site (Devenish et al., 2009)
  • Sewage and waste water runoff and seepage (residential and commercial). The lack of adequate waste management systems is exacerbating the impact and frequency of disease on coral reefs in Tobago and potentially this PA.
  • Reduced regeneration of coral due to seasonal cover by Sargassum
  • Destruction of wetlands
  • Invasive species via the Orinoco currents
  • Waste and anchor damage from yachts
  • Agricultural run off
  • Illegal disposal of solid waste
  • Sand and gravel mining (Louis d’Or River, Bloody Bay River, King’s Bay River)
  • Illegal and unregulated fishing
  • Land slippage and associated siltation
Current initiatives in the Protected Area

References