Using the national coastal assessment methodology to evaluate the water, water, and fish tissue quality of American Samoas near-shore marine resources
DiDonato EM, DiDonato GT, Smith LM, Harwell LC, Engle VD, Summers JK. Using the national coastal assessment methodology to evaluate the water, water, and fish tissue quality of American Samoas near-shore marine resources
Quality environmental monitoring is a logistically and financially challenging endeavor. For this reason, the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) developed partnerships with the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to conduct a Territory-wide ecological assessment in 2004. Each party benefits greatly from the collaboration. For instance, ASEPA gets data that can be used for 305(b) reporting needs and can provide a robust summary of the status and condition of Territorial waters to the USEPA. NPSA obtains water quality monitoring data that can be used for the park’s Vital Sign and Coral Reef monitoring programs. Before this survey, there had never been a comprehensive near shore water quality assessment effort for either NPSA or the Territory. A significant benefit to all parties is the identification of emerging environmental concerns, particularly water quality, in this remote island Territory. This assessment utilized the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) protocols and a probabilistic design. This design relies on random sample locations to attain an unbiased estimate of environmental condition. Fifty (50) randomlyselected sites in Territorial coastal waters (defined as waters extending out ¼ mile from shore) were targeted for water, fish, and sediment collection. Of these 50 stations, approximately ½ were constrained to within park boundaries, while the other ½ were cast around the Territorial waters. It is important to recognize that this probabilistic study design is intended for assessing the resource and does not allow for statements of causality. Instead, it is our hope that these data will first and foremost assist Territorial Resource Managers in further understanding their resources, as well as inspire future research questions and necessary investigations
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- DiDonato, E; DiDonato, G; Smith, L; Harwell, L; Engle, V; Summers, J
- Units
- NPSA
- Keywords
- Aquatic Sciences, coastal environments, Coastal Studies, coastal systems, Coastal Waters, Monitoring, Survey, Water Quality