The Expedition

The Waitt Institute and Dr. Stuart Sandin’s laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography collaborated to organize an expedition to conduct a rapid scientific assessment of the coral reefs around the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, namely Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Redonda, and the submarine atoll, Saba Bank. To complement these efforts, the expedition was supported by the Government of Antigua and partners in the nearby Dutch-affiliated islands (St Eustatius, Saba, and St Maarten).

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Across the 4 islands and submarine atoll, 65 sites were surveyed. This effort resulted in a total of 325 fish and benthic transects, following the GCRMN guidelines. Additionally 38 photomosaics were imaged: 6 on Redonda, 11 on Sint Eustatius, 11 on Sint Maarten, 8 on Saba, and 2 on the Saba Bank.