Wild Tobago

Guest writer, Eugenia Thomas reports on the 17 th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, which she attended with a team of scientists from The University of the West Indies and the NGO SpeSeas The 17 th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium was held in Hong Kong in January this year. Our team of four scientists from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and local NGO, SpeSeas, attended to present current research. This was a milestone event as it was the first time a team of this size represented Trinidad and Tobago, including first timer Barbados, highlighting the growing interest and importance of Caribbean nations involved in deep-sea exploration and research. Caribbean countries account for territory that is more than 85% deep ocean (ocean deeper than 200 meters). The ocean is our largest ecosystem, and plays a key role in every aspect of lifestyle and livelihood directly or indirectly, providing industry and services from fisheries to climate regulation. For those...

When last did you see a ray at the beach?   Farahnaz Solomon, marine biologist and fisheries expert, tells us about these mysterious creatures and asks us to look for skates and rays in our waters.     Trinidad and Tobago may be home to as many as 30 species of globally threatened skates and rays. What do we know about them? How can we appreciate and protect them in our waters? Local NGO and advocate for marine life, SpeSeas, has started a project aimed at unravelling the mysteries of rays: just how many species are there and where exactly do they live? Some of us have heard fishermen’s tales of the majestic manta – sometimes called devil ray - often sighted out at sea. Some of us have seen the southern stingrays and spotted eagle rays on the reefs or at the beach.   And a few have witnessed the fevers (a collection of rays is called a fever) of cownose rays migrating along the coast. Skates and rays are fishes that are closely related to sharks....

Dr Diva Amon, marine biologist, researches the habitats and animals of the deep ocean, and how human activities impact them. She has participated in expeditions around the world and is a consultant on ocean policy. She is a founding member and director of the TT NGO SpeSeas and a scientific advisor at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at University of California, Santa Barbara. This is the second part of the two-part feature, adapted from an article published on the World Economic Forum’s The Agenda on July 21 2022 .All photos courtesy NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research While the contentious climate talks in Egypt (COP 27, November 2022) captured headlines, another international meeting took place under the radar in Jamaica. The climate COP attracted 35,000 attendees; the meeting of the international body that regulates and controls mining activities in the high seas drew fewer than 500 delegates. Nonetheless, the outcomes of both meetings have the potential to profoundly...

Dr Diva Amon, marine biologist, researches the habitats and animals of the deep ocean, and how human activities impact them. She has participated in expeditions around the world and is a consultant on ocean policy. She is a founding member and director of the TT NGO SpeSeas and a scientific advisor at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at University of California, Santa Barbara. This is the first part of a two-part feature, adapted from an article published on the World Economic Forum’s The Agenda on July 21 2022. "By Hercules! In the sea and in the ocean, vast as it is, there exists nothing that is unknown to us, and, a truly marvelous fact, it is with those things which nature has concealed in the deep that we are the best acquainted!" Pliny the Elder, 40 AD. Pliny then proceeded to list just 176 species. Two thousand years later, we’re only just beginning to realize his statement was not only incorrect, but it echoed the contented ignorance of the time. Estimates now sug...

Dr Anjani Ganase, marine biologist discusses the partnership – Maritime Financial Group , Underwater Earth and SpeSeas - to showcase Tobago’s coral reefs in a significant Collection that will be available before the end of 2019 anywhere with an internet connection. What is this special Collection of Tobago’s coral reefs? The Maritime Ocean Collection will be the first on-line library of photos and videos showing coral reefs all around Tobago. It will be available for individuals, communities, schools, NGOs and companies in Trinidad and Tobago, and anywhere in the world, to view and to use for science and education. A visual information platform, it will be a powerful advocate for marine protection and conservation. The Collection of imagery will serve as a baseline for the state of Tobago’s reefs in 2019. It is a research and learning tool that can be used to gain understanding of the diversity of our coral reefs. Reefscapes (as in Google Street View but under the ocea...