Project

Saba Bank: marine mammals (inc. Yarari)

The Caribbean parts of the Dutch Kingdom, including the Caribbean Netherlands, have a rich and diverse marine mammal fauna. Relevant international treaties signed by the Netherlands are in particular ICRW, CBD, SPAW, CMS and CITES. The possibility of establishing a marine mammal sanctuary in the Caribbean Netherlands has been investigated on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) and has been an important policy process since 2010 together with the Caribbean Dutch island partners (MinEZ 2013). In September 2015, the Yarari marine mammal sanctuary was established by State Secretary Sharon Dijksma during her visit to Saba and Bonaire. Knowledge about marine mammals in the Dutch Caribbean waters is necessary to shape the management of this reserve and adjacent waters. This knowledge is partly collected in this BO project.
 
Goals of the BO project are:
Focus on quantitative research on spatial and seasonal occurrences of cetaceansInternational cooperation (with the jointly-developed regional research plan as a guideline)Improving the deployment of technology and techniques to perform data collection efficientlyBuilding support (through broad involvement of stakeholders and the public)

This BO project focuses on maintenance and if possible extension of the existing noise logger project and analysis of the collected data, expected results are species composition, seasonal and regional occurrence of marine mammals on a large scale and in relation to migration patterns in the Caribbean region. Technology and techniques are improved where possible to perform data analysis as efficiently as possible. There is also cooperation with local NGOs, park managers and dive/tour operators.

Publications

• Marine Mammals of the Northeastern Caribbean windward Dutch Islands: Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and the Saba Bank

  Debrot, A.O. , Esteban, N. , Bervoets, T. , Hoetjes, P.C. , Scheidat, M. (2013) Caribbean Journal of Science (2013), Volume: 47, Issue: 2-3 - ISSN 0008-6452 - p. 159-172.

• Observations on the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Dutch Caribbean

  Debrot, A.O. , Leon, R. , Esteban, N. , Meesters, H.W.G. (2013) Caribbean Journal of Science (2013), Volume: 47, Issue: 2-3 - ISSN 0008-6452 - p. 344-349.

• Noise logger overview

  Lucke, K. (2014) IJmuiden: IMARES (Report / IMARES )

• User guide: Handheld hydrophone for recording cetaceans at sea (version 1.0)

  Verdaat, J.P. , Lucke, K. (2014) Den Helder: IMARES (Report / IMARES )

• Marine mammals in the Wider Caribbean - Current research and priorities for future studies

  Lucke, K. , Scheidat, M. , Geelhoed, S.C.V. , Debrot, A.O. (2014) Den Helder: IMARES (Report / IMARES Wageningen UR C007/14)

• Aerial surveys of marine mammals and other fauna around Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, November 2013

  Geelhoed, S.C.V. , Janinhoff, N. , Verdaat, J.P. , van Bemmelen, R.S.A. , Scheidat, M. (2014) Den Burg: IMARES (Report / IMARES Wageningen UR C012/14)

• Seasonal migrations of North Atlantic minke whales: novel insights from large-scale passive acoustic monitoring netsworks

  Risch, D. , Castellote, M. , Clark, C.W. , Lucke, K. , Verdaat, J.P. (2014) Movement Ecology (2014), Volume: 2 - ISSN 2051-3933

• Humpback and minke whale acoustic presence with reference to fish sounds and ambient noise levels at Saba Bank, Caribbean Windward Dutch Islands

  Risch, D. , de Haan, D. (2016) IMARES (Report / IMARES C067/16)

• First visual record of a living basking shark Cetorhinus maximus in the Caribbean Sea

  Geelhoed, S.C.V. , Janinhoff, N. , Verdaat, J.P. (2016) Caribbean Journal of Science (2016), Volume: 49, Issue: 1 - ISSN 0008-6452 - p. 76-78.

• A review of records of the black-capped petrel pterodroma hasitata in the caribbean sea

  Leopold, Mardik F. , Geelhoed, Steve C.V. , Scheidat, Meike , Cremer, Jenny , Debrot, Adolphe O. , Van Halewijn, Ruud (2019) Marine Ornithology (2019), Volume: 47, Issue: 2 - ISSN 1018-3337 - p. 235-241.