Barbados embarks on pioneering sea survey

A first-of-its-kind mission to map the deep waters surrounding Barbados is expected to shape future policy, conservation efforts, and further development of the blue economy, with scientists anticipating several interesting discoveries on the island’s ocean floor.

Speaking during a tour of the Irish marine research vessel RV Celtic Explorer on Monday, Head of the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU), Dr Leo Brewster, said the operation marks the first time Barbados has attempted to survey and chart the sea floor across its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“This is something that has never been done, so it’s very pioneering for us,” Brewster said. 

“Even as a small island state, it is very pioneering globally because not many small islands have been able to take on this challenge.”

The vessel, chartered through a partnership with the Marine Institute of the Republic of Ireland, has already completed the first of two planned survey legs. 

In that time, scientists aboard mapped more than 22 000 square kilometres of the sea floor, which is approximately 12 per cent of Barbados’ EEZ, using high-resolution sonar equipment designed to scan depths of up to six kilometres.

Among the early findings are coral reefs in shallow areas, canyons running from the continental shelf into the deep sea, and underwater seamounts that experts say may be teeming with marine life.

Speaking to reporters, chief scientist with the Irish Marine Institute, Kevin Sheehan, described the underwater landscape as more complex than expected.

“Your sea floor is rather complicated. In Ireland, it tends to be quite flat, but here, there are a lot of features…. It’s a geologically active area where two plates collide and one is being subducted under the other. That leads to a lot of deformation and crenulations, and we’re seeing that in the data,” he shared, noting that the mission will reveal some interesting findings. 

“There’s a lot going on down there. We’ll be giving all of this data back to Barbados as soon as the survey is over.”

The initiative is part of the Barbados Marine Spatial Plan,  a multi-year project aimed at helping the country better manage its marine resources and identify areas for conservation, fishing, energy development, or other sustainable uses.

Project manager Allison Wiggins noted that the mapping exercise is similar to producing a topographic map for land, but this time, it’s for the ocean floor. 

Once complete, the data will be layered with information on ecosystems and human activity to support decision-making.

“What we will use that information for is a baseline,” Wiggins said. 

“Then we will put things such as our ecosystems on top of these maps and create layers to show what areas we’re going to conserve, and the type of policies that we will put in place for the Barbados Marine Spatial Plan.”

Officials noted that while the initial results are promising, the full findings will first be presented to Cabinet before any decision is made on what data will be released to the public.

The deep-sea survey also includes local participation, with Barbadian scientists joining the research crew to gain firsthand experience in marine mapping.

The officials noted that booking the Celtic Explorer took 18 months, as global demand for such vessels is high, and that, contrary to popular belief, hurricane season offers the calmest seas for mapping Barbados’ eastern coast.

Wiggins confirmed that the project was costly, though she stopped short of providing a specific figure.

“I can tell you it’s a very expensive exercise, but the benefits we derive from this, you know, as Barbadians, are very tremendous,” she said.

Barbados’ Exclusive Economic Zone stretches 200 nautical miles from the shoreline and is more than 400 times the size of the island’s landmass. 

Officials say it will take at least five years to fully map the entire area, starting with the eastern coast and gradually moving across the rest of the zone.

shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb