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Marine Research at St Helenaby Miss Annalea Beard
• Introduction• SHG structure• Environmental Protection Ordinance• Marine Management Plan• Previous Research• Current Research• Future Research Opportunities
SHG Marine Section• Sits within EMD of the ENRD • Three full time staff members, two full time and one
part time project staff (recruiting).• Priority; Implementation of the Marine Management
Plan• Goals;
1. To improve our ability to sustainably manage our natural resources
2. Reducing the environmental impact of invasive species on our environment and natural resources
3. Protecting the natural environment by conserving biodiversity, preventing, minimising or mitigating against pollution, waste, littering, harmful materials and organisms and conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the Island.
Environmental Protection Ordinance (EPO)
• Applies to the Economic Exclusive Zone• CITES; regulation of trade, penalisation and authority to
confiscate.• Includes Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA’s)
and Conservation of Biodiversity• EMD is the management authority via the Chief
Environmental Officer – Miss Isabel Peters.• protect biodiversity, habitats, ecosystems; preventing,
mitigating and immunising pollution and littering; minimising the risks from the introduction of potentially harmful materials or organisms; conserving and enhancing natural beauty, and geological or geographical features of special interest (National Conservation Areas).
Marine Protected Area (MPA)In 2016 the 200 nautical mile Maritime Zone was designated as n IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use) Marine
Protected Area (MPA)It means that we will aim to conserve our marine ecosystem, together with our culture and traditions, to ensure it can be
utilised and enjoyed by future generations. It also means that all marine activities - for example fishing and tourism - must be carefully managed to ensure minimal impact on the marine
environment.To implement the MPA the UK pledged £20 million to support the
implementation, management, surveillance and crucially the enforcement of new Marine Protected Areas in the Overseas
Territories, known as the Blue Belt Initiative
Marine Management Plan (MMP)
• Identifies major existing and potential pressures on the marine environment.
• It includes pollution, aspects of commercial and recreational fishing, introduced species, aspects of marine tourism, construction and mineral extraction.
• Plan specifies management strategies;• boundary and zoning• management of the fishery• management of marine tourism activities• science and research
Funding Marine Research
138.676.5
22.9
2017/2018
Darwin InitativeBlue BeltMarine Section
Grouper (Epinephelus adscensionis)
• OTEP 2005-2006, £31,280• Monitoring and raising public awareness of
Grouper at St Helena using Ascension Island as a control
• Baseline data on population biology (age, length, weight, maturity) to assess management strategy.
• CEFAS 2018-2019 stock assessment through tagging and biological sample collection.
Marine Sightings and Seabird Monitoring Programme
• OTEP 2004-2006, £22,225• Established a seabird monitoring programme
as indicators of the health of the marine environment. This has evolved since project completion...
• Sightings Scheme still plays a vital part in collection of core baseline data on species occurrence and frequency around St Helena.
Mapping St. Helena’s marine biodiversity to create a Marine Management Plan
• Darwin: 2012-2014, £164,150• Collection of marine benthic data• Mapping species and habitats
distribution and extent• Update species lists• Draft monitoring and management
plan• Identify potential MPA’s• Awareness Raising
New discoveries
• Eighteen new records of fish species.• There are now 193 fish species
currently known from St Helena. • Three of them appear to be
undescribed. • Eight species and two subspecies are
currently considered endemic to St. Helena Island.
• Not to mention other taxa; sponges, slugs etc.
Madeiran storm petrels (Ocenodromacasto?)
©David Jenkins
Madeiran storm petrels (Ocenodromacasto?)
• 2014-2015, £43,430• Taxonomic and conservation status of
Oceanodroma storm petrels in the South Atlantic
• Hot and cool season populations on Ascension and St Helena are not genetically differentiated from one another, however the South Atlantic and Pacific (Japan, Hawaii, Galapagos) populations grouped genetically....the debate continues.
©David Jenkins
Sustainable development and management of St Helena’s fisheries and
marine tourism• Darwin; 2015-2017, £270,737• Marine Ecosystems Services Assessment• Fisheries sector strategy review• Biological data on key commercial tuna
species collected and analysed• Capacity building
Oceanographic influences on the St Helena pelagic ecosystem1st July 2017 – 30th June 2019
Darwin contribution: £247,232
Establish a basic understanding of the seasonal operation of pelagic ecosystem that underpins St Helena’s fisheries and tourism industries and evaluate how oceanography influences that system.
Feed into the marine management plan (MMP) and sustainable use of the marine protected area (MPA)
Seabird Tracking Programme Breeding and non-breeding foraging ranges
©David Jenkins
Breeding Red-Billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus)
©David Jenkins
Breeding Red-Billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus)
• 143 GPS devices retrieved over five years.• Bimodal foraging strategy• Maximum distance from the colony whilst
incubating 726km (392nm), chick rearing 553km (298nm)
• Direction...• 2016 15 GLS loggers deployed, 10 recovered,
2017 10 new, 4 re-deployed• Combined with nest attendance, breeding
productivity, chick Growth and dietary Analysis.
©David Jenkins
Masked Boobies (Sula dactylatra)
©David Higgins
Masked Boobies (Sula dactylatra)
• 2012-2015, 147 GPS loggers deployed, 131 retrieved (48 incubating, 83 chick rearing)
• 160 incubating and 325 chick rearing trips identified.• Trip duration ranged from ~1-14hrs• Maximum distance from the colony ~152km (82nm)• Total trip distance during incubation ~25-330km, chick
rearing 50-322km• 2016 16 GLS loggers deployed, 13 recovered.• 2017 6 re-deployed, 10 new GLS loggers deployed.
©David Higgins
Brown Noddies (Anous stolidus)
• December 2017, 12 GPS loggers deployed on incubating adults, 5 retrieved.
• 26 trips identified• Duration ranged from
~1hr-55hrs• maximum distance from
the colony =269km (145nm)
• Total trip distance ranged from ~6km-799km
• 20 GLS loggers deployed...
©David Jenkins
Breeding Storm Petrels (Ocenodroma sp.)
• December 2017, 13 GPS loggers deployed on breeding adults, 12 retrieved.
• 14 trips identified• Duration ranged from ~8-
231hrs • Maximum distance from the
colony = 872km (470nm)• Total trip distance ranged
from ~38 -3285km©David Jenkins
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