Biodiversity of the Saba Bank supports status of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA)

This report contains a study regarding the biodiversity of the Saba Bank, one of the three largest atolls in the world. All scientific and anecdotic evidence suggests that the area is a hot spot of biodiversity and one of the few areas in the Caribbean that is still in a relatively pristine condition. The atoll is likely also important as a source of larvae for other areas in the region because of its enormous dimensions and diverse habitats. Major damage however may already be inflicted by the anchoring of large oil tankers. More scientific research is necessary with regards to the damage inflicted by anchoring and to the sustainability of current fishing practices, but to date there is already sufficient data to call for strong protection of the Saba Bank as soon as possible. Therefore, an application to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to designate the Saba Bank as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) in order to prevent possibly irreversible damage to the ecosystem and to enable sustainable protection of it’s vulnerable resources seems crucial and urgent

Are white-beaked dolphins Lagenorhynchus albirostris food specialst? Their diet in the southern North Sea

The white-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris is the most numerous cetacean after the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena in the North Sea, including Dutch coastal waters. In this study, the diet of 45 white-beaked dolphins stranded on the Dutch coast between 1968 and 2005 was determined by analysis of stomach contents. Although 25 fish species were identified, the diet was dominated by Gadidae (98.0% by weight, 40.0% in numbers), found in all stomachs. All other prey species combined contributed little to the diet by weight (2.0%W). The two most important prey species were whiting Merlangius merlangus (91.1% frequency of occurrence (FO), 30.5%N, 37.6%W) and cod Gadus morhua (73.3%FO, 7.4%N, 55.9%W). In numbers, gobies were most common (54.6%N), but contributed little to the diet by weight (0.6%W). Three stomachs contained different prey compared to the others: one animal had taken 2250 gobies, accounting for 96.4% of all gobies found; one animal had fed on 29 small sepiolids; and one animal had solely taken haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus. Squid and haddock were not found in any other stomach. The overall diet showed a lasting predominance of whiting and cod, without clear changes over time (35 years) or differences between sexes or size-classes of dolphins. This study adds to earlier published and unpublished data for Dutch coastal waters and agrees well with studies of white-beaked dolphins from other parts of the species’ range, in the North Sea and in Canadian waters, with Gadidae dominating the diet on both sides of the Atlantic

Ecotopes and species composition of the Westerscheldt: can ecotopes be distinguished by species composition?

In opdracht van het RIKZ is onderzocht of de soortensamenstelling van bodemmonsters van de Westerschelde die van te voren waren ingedeeld in bepaalde ecotopen ook significant van elkaar verschilden. Hiervoor is een multivariate statistische methode gebruikt die analyseerde of monsters uit hetzelfde ecotoop meer op elkaar leken dan monsters uit verschillende ecotopen. Gezien de grote fluctuaties in soortensamenstelling door de tijd lijkt het noodzakelijk om data van meerdere jaren bij elkaar te voegen om zo deze variabiliteit enigszins te verminderen. Verder dienen er meer monsters uit de andere ecotopen verzameld te worden om ook hier iets over te zeggen. Verder onderzoek zou ook kunnen kijken naar soorten die kenmerkend zijn voor de verschillende ecotopen en eventuele gevoelige soorten. Andere manieren om deze dit soort gegevens te analyseren worden ook kort aangegeve

Second opinion NuStar terminal expansion

In this report a second opinion is developed for the Environmental Impact Assessment NuStar terminal expansion (at St. Eustatius). Only the marine ecology part of the EIA report is evaluated focusing on the impacts reported for marine reserves, reef- and sea-grass habitat, conchs, turtles, marine mammal and fish. The criteria used are: completeness, consistence, transparency, ecological soundness, and relevance of the foreseen impacts resulting from the terminal expansion. When applying these criteria we have found that most of the impact assessments were incomplete (missing information and data, missing expected impacts). Reference base line data has been incompletely collected. Furthermore, many of the assessments were not transparent (based on the information given in the EIA we could not come to the same conclusion). Also we found that the reasoning to come to a conclusion in the EIA was not ecologically sound in many cases (e.g. mobile species are not affected by habitat loss because they can move out the area instead of describing an effect on the distribution area and thus on the abundance or density of the species). In a few cases assessments scored not relevant or were not assessed in a consistent way. Furthermore, we found that not all expected (potential) impacts were assessed and that those assessed were mainly qualitatively assessed only. Data on pressures was incomplete as was data on ecological receptors, and some publically available data was not used. At the end of this report we list these data needs and missing impact assessments

Management plan for the natural resources of the EEZ of the Dutch Caribbean

On the 10th of October 2010 the governmental entity known as the Netherlands Antilles is scheduled to cease to exist. Each island will aquire a new status within the kingdom. Following the declaration of an Exclusive Fishery Zone (EFZ) in 1993, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been declared in the Dutch Caribbean on the tenth of June 2010. The EEZ area concerned, is a large expanse of sea which harbours exceptional biodiversity, and represents an important natural renewable resource potential. The Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and The Netherlands have, therefore, opted to draft a management plan for the EEZ. This initiative began in the year 2005 when the first conference regarding the management of the biodiversity in the EEZ was held. The consensus was that despite a fragmented Dutch Caribbean, the EEZ should always be integrally managed. In 2009 the participants of the second conference confirmed the need for common management and developed common goals, principles and a framework for the management of the Dutch Caribbean waters. Resulting from this conference a management plan was drafted, circulated to all stakeholders and discussed on the 1st of June 2010. Based on the input and feedback received, as well as subsequent correspondence, this final management plan was jointly developed

Ruimtelijke en temporele patronen in de diversiteit van de macrobentische infauna op het Nederlands Continentaal Plat

In opdracht van het Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving is een overzicht gemaakt van ruimtelijke en temporele verschillen in de diversiteit van het benthos op het Nederlands Continentaal Plat. Voor de berekeningen werd gebruik gemaakt van de meetgegevens van het landelijke monitoringprogramma MWTL (Monitoring van de Waterstaatkundige Toestand des Lands). In dit rapport zijn de macrobenthos-gegevens van de periode 1991-2005 geanalyseerd. Globaal gezien blijken er in de periode 1991-2005 weinig, hoogstens kleine, veranderingen in de biodiversiteit van de macrobenthische infauna. Fluctuaties in de populatieomvang van een aantal soorten leidden wel tot significante fluctuaties in dominantie, gereflecteerd in de Simpson index

Bonaire Deep Reef Expedition I

From 30 May – 1 June 2013 the deep reef of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands, was explored with the aid of the “Curasub” submarine of Substation Curaçao. The shallow reefs of the Caribbean are considered a biodiversity-hotspot, an area with exceptional diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems yet surprisingly little is known about the flora and fauna of the deeper reefs. Particularly the deep reefs of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have hardly been explored. This represents a critical knowledge gap for developing future reef policies and management practices. In order to adequately protect the ecosystem and construct sustainable management plans it is essential to document the biodiversity and to gain an understanding of what processes keep it in place

Bonaire Natioanl Marine Park (BNMP) op weg naar werelderfgoed

Het Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) staat sinds 2011 op de Nederlandse Voorlopige lijst van het Werelderfgoed. Dit betekent dat een nominatie kan worden ingediend om als natuurlijk werelderfgoed erkend te worden. In dit rapport wordt beschreven welke stappen nodig zijn om tot een nominatie voor de status van werelderfgoed te komen