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HomeNewsArchivesNOAA Grant to Fund Derelict Vessel Removal in Coral Bay

NOAA Grant to Fund Derelict Vessel Removal in Coral Bay

With about a dozen derelict vessels littering Coral Bay Harbor, the Coral Bay Community Council will use a $90,000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant to get rid of the boats and clean up along the shoreline, in the mangroves and in the boat mooring areas around the harbor. Some vessels have been sitting in various stages of discomposure since Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989.

“For decades, on an ongoing basis, cleanup, removal and disposal of marine debris, and rescue of grounded vessels have been accomplished by boaters, the Coral Bay Yacht Club members, Community Council and other community volunteers,” Community Council President Sharon Coldren said in a press release. “This federal NOAA grant funding for derelict vessel removal will raise the morale of all who continuously work to keep the bay clean.”

According to Coldren, the person who maintains each mooring, charter boat captains, a marine services store and shoreline restaurants all participate in the periodic cleanups. She said volunteers have been frustrated by the lack of funding to remove the grounded and sunken wrecks that leave visitors with the erroneous conclusion that Coral Bay’s boaters don’t care environmentally.

The $90,000 grant comes from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and NOAA’s Restoration Center. The Community Council will provide in-kind services and funds for a total project value of nearly $140,000. The organization is currently seeking to hire an employee to manage this project and other functions.

These abandoned vessels pose an environmental hazard, which can be prevented with removal. Coldren said that, for instance, serious storm waves could move the vessels, causing battering of the surrounding mangroves and stripping of the sea grasses.

This project will allow sea grass to regrow and mangroves to put down new roots, returning the area to more pristine conditions, she said. The mangroves, sea grasses, and corals of Coral Harbor are rich and unique thriving nursery habitats known for their wildlife diversity.

“Black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks use these shallow waters for birthing and first-year habitat. Endangered sea turtles live in the flourishing sea grass meadows that cover most of Coral Harbor seafloor, along with many species of fish,” Coldren said.

The Community Council will work with the Coral Bay Yacht Club, the primary community partner in this project, as well as the Planning and Natural Resources Department and others to complete the boat removal over the next 18 months.

The boat removal program will work within DPNR’s regulatory process to declare a boat abandoned. The process includes newspaper advertising to notify owners that plans are under way to remove their boat.

The University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine and Environmental Studies will also participate. One or more graduate students receiving stipends via the grant will conduct environmental monitoring to assess the impacts of removal efforts on Coral Bay’s diverse marine habitats. The students will use their experience to provide public outreach and education to heighten the community conservation ethic and the protection of marine habitats.

UVI professor Tyler Smith will supervise the student environmental monitoring. Smith’s faculty time will be provided pro bono as part of UVI’s community service.

As part of the community in-kind matching funds, which place a dollar value on volunteer work, the Community Council is planning volunteer cleanup efforts at selected shoreline and mangrove area locations in cooperation with Coral Bay Yacht Club members, the Kids and the Sea program and the John’s Folly Learning Institute.

The Friends of V.I. National Park will contribute the value of their annual International Coastweeks all-island volunteer cleanup to this effort in acknowledgement of the importance of this derelict vessel removal project for St. John. All community or church groups are welcome to join in volunteering in these cleanups to help preserve Coral Bay’s valuable marine environment.

A competitive contracting process will be used to solicit bids from qualified and insured local marine salvage contractors. Contractor selection will be done in consultation with Planning, NOAA, and other experts, Coldren said.

The contractor will be responsible for maximizing the number of derelict grounded vessels safely removed and disposed of given the grant funds available.

“We hope there will be enough grant funds for a contractor to remove all of the existing derelict vessels – if not, we will seek private dollar contributions to remove the rest of them as part of the same contract,” Coldren said.

To reduce future locally generated marine debris, the Coral Bay Community Council will start a marine debris reduction and reporting program. The program will include all kinds of debris – from litter thrown into guts and along roads to awareness of incidental oil/fuel spills by boats and outboard engines, and reducing the number of abandoned floating boats.

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