In Fiscal Years 2005, 2006 and 2007, OR&R received appropriations from Congress to consult with and provide assistance to the U. S. Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency and Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board in carrying out their cleanup responsibilities in Vieques. This enabled NOAA to undertake a number of projects that are facilitating remediation of the island and protection and restoration of its natural resources including:

• Sampling for the presence of contamination in land and fiddler crabs to support evaluations of the site’s potential human health and ecological risks. The results of this study assisted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in determining whether refuge areas can be opened to harvesting of land crabs. A copy of this report is available. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducted a human health evaluation to evaluate the human health impacts of eating land crabs from Vieques. ATSDR concluded that eating land crabs on Vieques does not pose a human health risk. A copy of their report is included as Appendix H in the report listed above.

NOAA scientist collecting fiddler crab samples on the south coast of Vieques.

• Conducting Underwater Survey Demonstration Projects for munitions to show the effectiveness of current technologies (side scan and multibeam sonars, magnetometry, precise instrument positioning, autonomous systems and video mosaic interpretation) in identifying remaining ordnance and other debris around Vieques. These demonstrations provide the Navy with valuable maps, data and recommendations as they evaluate technology capabilities for future munitions investigations.

Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Diver confirmation of unexploded ordnance in waters off Vieques.

• Performing an Ecological Characterization of the Marine Resources of Vieques. Part I of the two-part assessment contains an integrated summary of data collected before 2007 on the physical environment, habitat types and associated fish and invertebrate communities. Part II of the Ecological Characterization builds on the Phase I work presenting new data on benthic features, associated fish and invertebrate communities, nutrients a contaminants. A copy of this report is available. These data will assist in the development of a strategy for long-term monitoring, cleanup and protections of the marine resources.

NOAA divers survey benthic habitat types and associated fish and invertebrate communities.

• Conducting a Coral Reef Restoration Demonstration Project. The results allowed for an evaluation of the success of various techniques to restore coral, such as transplantation of coral fragments and coral larval recruitment to artificial substrates. The data will be applied to future cleanup and restoration of coral reefs.

NOAA scientist attaching coral transplant to artificial reef structure.

• Building upon existing community education and outreach activities in Vieques working with the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust (VCHT) to increase public awareness of the coastal and marine resources of Vieques. With NOAA’s support, the trust developed interactive Marine Life and Bioluminescent Bay exhibits and bilingual educational materials on Vieques coastal and marine resources. Visit VCHT for more information.

Marine Life exhibit at the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust.