Ocean Community Unites

On a Sunday afternoon, on February 7, locals packed an 80 passenger boat chartered by We Are Guahan and headed out to Western Shoal in Outer Apra Harbor to participate in WAG’s ‘We Are Ocean’ Event. They were met there by thirty or so paddlers who quietly lined up behind the passenger boat to listen reverently to several chants and to participate in a traditional blessing of the area. There were mothers and students, senators and biologists, educators and children — come together to honor and discover the uniqueness of an area that plays host to a diversity of corals and a special mangrove ‘garden’.

After the blessing, a marine biologist shared some sobering facts: There is no other place like Apra Harbor. Because of the Unique and special conditions, the coral reefs there host a unique reef assemblages. As the only deep water, protected lagoonal area in the entire Marianas Archipelago, any damage to these areas due to direct dredging and indirect sedimentation would reduce Guam’s marine biodiversity. There are almost twice as many coral species in the CVN project area alone as there are across the entire Caribbean!

The DEIS proposes to dredge over 70 acres of reef in order to make room for a deep-draft wharf. This would enable Guam to support a transient nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The DEIS claims that the screens laid during the dredging will block most of the silt from covering the surrounding reef. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that silt curtains aren’t nearly as effective as they claim. First of all, they don’t reach all the way to the bottom – usually only to about 30 feet – so quite a lot of sediment escapes through the bottom. There have been multiple reports of large sediment plumes escaping the silt curtain at Kilo Wharf. These plumes could come from the bottom of the curtain as well as through the frequent tears in the fabric.

In general, the DEIS minimizes the potential effects of sedimentation.  It states that because the corals in this area experience more sedimentation than corals in other areas, they should respond fairly well to the short-term dredging operations.  However, this does not take into account the idea that many corals live at the edge of their environmental tolerances, whether we’re talking about temperature (why many species bleach so readily), nutrients, sedimentation rates, or some other stressor.  They expend all the energy they can to grow, reproduce, fend off disease, re-grow dead tissue, etc. given the present rates of sedimentation.  To then add to that equation another unnatural source of sediment in addition to the present rates of sedimentation, and something has to give. The model used in the DEIS appears to overestimate the effectiveness of silt curtains in preventing sediment from escaping.

Guam’s reefs provide an immense number of benefits to the people of Guam, and are integral to the long-term viability of culture, tradition, and the economy.  They provide food, protection from storms, recreational opportunities, are crucial to Guam’s tourism economy, and are important to local customs and traditions. The ‘We Are Ocean’ event that brought so many people together onFebruary 7 is testament to a community that cares deeply for the waters that surround our small island.