TT’s ocean to be explored

WHAT lies deep beneath the sea will no longer be unknown to TT, as National Geographic has donated three drop-camera systems to enable exploration and data collection.

On Monday at the official launch of My Deep Sea, My Backyard TT, project head Dr Diva Amon said TT had never had any access to deep-sea technology, and the project is an attempt to gather information about the deep sea which is virtually unknown in the nation’s backyard.

She said the one-week event will include in-country technology training involving training scientists, engineers, communicators and other locals in the use of the drop-cameras to determine species presence, to check bathymetry accuracy (the measurement of depth of water), revisit sites over time, and explore new locales, among other things.

“The project is a stepping-stone into that. It is all about exploration, because we must be able to say, and right now we cannot say, what lives in our oceans. Our deep oceans here in TT are our largest habitat, which a lot of people do not know about. The first real aim is to explore, and the second aim is to build capacity locally, because we don’t have the technological and the financial capacity and we don’t have the resources.

“In order to do the work you will need a very big ship, high-tech equipment and we can’t afford to do that as other developing countries. With the launch we are hoping we can engage all stakeholders.

“We were very careful on the people who we invited because they are the key people in what we would like to do.

It is not only about the science, but we need people to be supporting everything that we are doing.”

Amon said the project is all about using low-cost technology and once it is successful in TT, the information will be transferred throughout the Caribbean.

It’s funded by National Geographic, the Inter-American Development Bank, the University of the West Indies and other local institutions.

Keynote speaker, former Ambassador to the UN and chairman of BBNJ PrepCom Eden Charles said the pilot project has the potential to assist TT in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Agenda, which calls on states to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

“The SDG 14, Life below Water calls on countries to unite in the protection of our oceans and seas and the lives which depend on it. States have committed by 2020 to achieving the sustainable management of marine ecosystems, and in another five years, to significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds.

“To achieve this objective, scientific partnerships, such as those involved in this project are essential if countries are to successfully tackle matters relating to the regulation of fishing, eradication of pollution caused by plastics and other harmful anthropogenic activities, as well as the enhancement of research and knowledge on issues critical to the survival of life below water.”

Charles said TT must continue to embrace initiatives which would assist it in meeting other targets developed on the international plane in which it operates.

He said with the implementation of My Deep Sea, My Backyard TT, people can learn from best practices, and exploring the deep sea is essential.

“Without this type of activity, the country is denied much-needed resources and we constrain our potential to achieve sustainable development for all our people.”