BRUV Work In The Dutch Caribbean

Data collection with stereo Baited Remote Underwater Videos (sBRUV) deployed throughout the islands of the Dutch Caribbean over the past few years is almost completed, with only parts of Bonaire left as final sampling locations. The collected data already gives great insight into the status of shark populations in the waters around Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Curaçao and on the Saba Bank (Figure 1). Since 2012 researchers from Wageningen Marine Research with project leader Dr. Martin de Graaf, in partnership with local partners, have used simple, non-invasive stereo Baited Remote Underwater Videos (sBRUV) to gather important information on the size, diversity, species composition and abundance and of shark populations across different management zones in the Dutch Caribbean. To this date, over 800 sBRUV videos have been deployed across the Dutch Caribbean, including 103 around Bonaire (and continuing), 164 around Curacao, 108 around Saba, 164 on the Saba Bank, 104 around St. Eustatius and 214 around St. Maarten.

This news-item was published in BioNews 5-2017.