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NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 272

NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-OHC ; 4

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) was launched in 2009, following the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The goal is to provide scientific information needed to conserve and manage deep-sea coral ecosystems in the United States (NOAA 2008; Hourigan 2009). The Program is guided by the NOAA Strategic Plan for Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems, which aims to (1) produce sound science to support NOAA’s role in managing fishing impacts and to address threats to deep-sea coral ecosystems, (2) support conservation of deep-sea ecosystems in National Marine Sanctuaries, and (3) integrate the expertise and resources available across NOAA (NOAA 2010a). The Program works in consultation with regional fishery management councils and in partnership with other federal agencies and academic partners to support focused, three-year research initiatives in priority regions, through analysis of existing information about deep-sea coral ecosystems, studies of the distribution and intensity of fishing activities that impact deep-sea corals in federal waters, and investigations of coral and sponge bycatch in fisheries (NOAA 2010a). Since its inception, the DSCRTP has funded targeted research initiatives in the South Atlantic (2009-2011) (Figure 1), the West Coast (2010-2012), Alaska (2012-2014), the Northeast (2013-2015), and the Pacific Islands (2015-2017).

NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS ; 200

NOAA's Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) is compiling a national database of the locations of deep-sea corals and sponges, beginning in U.S. waters. The DSCRTP will make this information accessible to resource managers, the scientific community, and the public over the World Wide Web. The database fulfills NOAA's requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to identify and map locations of deep-sea corals and to submit this information for use by regional fishery management councils. At present, there is no comprehensive, national-scale data portal for deep-sea corals and sponges. Given the authorities outlined in the MSA, NOAA's DSCRTP will serve as a central data aggregator and distributor. The DSCRTP will aggregate and make accessible historical records from samples archived in museums, research institutions, and reported in the scientific literature augmented by observations collected during deep-water in situ surveys conducted by NOAA and other research institutions. The database schema accommodates both linear (trawls, transects) and point data (samples, observations). The schema captures information in 95 fields across eight main categories related to surveys (e.g. cruises or expeditions), events (e.g. dives or transects), observations (e.g. specimens or images), as well as taxonomic identification, environment, occurrence details, metadata and record-keeping information. Not all fields are required for submission to the database. The minimal data requirements for point observations, transects, and trawls are outlined in this document. The database represents a new standard to catalyze progress in deep-sea coral and sponge resource management and habitat suitability modeling. Records will be compiled continuously by NOAA, and distributed online in a map atlas format beginning in 2015.

NOAA has a mandate to explore and understand deep-sea coral ecology under Magnuson-Stevens Sustainable Fisheries Conservation Act Reauthorization of 2009. Deep-sea corals are increasingly considered a proxy for marine biodiversity in the deep-sea because corals create complex structure, andthis structure forms important habitat for associated species of shrimp, crabs, sea stars, brittle stars, andfishes. Yet, our understanding of the nature of the relationships between deep-corals and their associatedspecies is incomplete.One of the primary challenges of conducting any type of deep-sea coral (DSC) research is access to the deep-sea. The deep-sea is a remote environment that often requires long surface transits and sophisticated research vehicles like submersibles and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The research vehicles often require substantial crew, and the vehicles are typically launched from large research vessels costing many thousands of dollars a day.To overcome the problem of access to the deep-sea, the Deep Coral and Associated Species Taxonomy and Ecology (DeepCAST) Expeditions are pioneering the use of shore-based submersibles equipped to do scientific research. Shore-based subs alleviate the need for expensive ships because they launch and return under their own power. One disadvantage to the approach is that shore-based subs are restricted to nearby sites. The disadvantage is outweighed, however, by the benefit of repeated observations, and theopportunity to reduce the costs of exploration while expanding knowledge of deep-sea coral ecology.

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys were conducted from NOAA’s state-of-the-art Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV) Bell M. Shimada during a six-day transit November 1-5, 2010 between San Diego, CA and Seattle, WA. The objective of this survey was to locate and characterize deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems at several recommended sites insupport of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. Deep-sea corals and sponges were photographed and collected whenever possible using the Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s (SWFSC) Phantom ROV ‘Sebastes’ (Fig. 1).The surveyed sites were recommended by National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) scientists at Monterey Bay NMS, Gulf of the Farallones NMS, and Olympic Coast NMS (Fig. 2). The specific sites were: Sur Canyon, The Football, Coquille Bank, and Olympic Coast NMS. During each dive, the ROV collected digital still images, video, navigation, and along-track conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD), and optode data. Video and high-resolution photographs were used to quantify abundance of corals, sponges, and associated fishes and invertebrates to the lowest practicable taxonomic level, and also to classify the seabed by substrate type. A reference laser system was used to quantify area searched and estimate the density of benthic fauna.