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NOAA-Supported Mission Discovers Historic Shipwreck Off Turks and Caicos Islands

Maritime archaeologists today announced they have recently identified the wreck of the historic slave ship Trouvadore off the coast of East Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands. NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research significantly funded several years of archaeological research leading to the discovery by Don Keith and Toni Carrell, from Ships of Discovery, an underwater archaeology research institute.

The Spanish vessel Trouvadore was participating in the slave trade, outlawed in the British Indies, including the Turks and Caicos Islands. In 1841, after the vessel was grounded on a reef, Caicos authorities arrested the crew, and most of the 192 African survivors settled on Grand Turk Island.

Keith and Carrell believe the African survivors of the Trouvadore are the ancestors of a large portion of current residents in the Turks and Caicos Islands. For example, traditions on the Islands have a recognizable African origin. The Turks and Caicos National Museum is recording these traditions through oral histories and is educating the community about their ancestral history.

“What makes a people different and distinct is their unique history,” said Keith, who has worked in the islands for 30 years. “The people of the Turks and Caicos have a direct line to this dramatic, historic event – it’s how so many of them ended up being there. We hope this discovery will encourage the people of the Turks and Caicos to protect and research their local history, especially the history that remains underwater.”

“Although the sinking of the Trouvadore was a major event on the Island, the story was lost to history over the following century and a half,” said Carrell. “After we uncovered records of the shipwreck several years ago, we were stunned to realize that Turks and Caicos residents had never heard of the shipwreck that brought their ancestors to the Island.”

In 2004, using historical accounts of where the Trouvadore went down, along with remote sensing and visual searches, archaeologists focused on a ship near a local landmark known as the Black Rock. Records showed the vessel had sunk at Breezy Point, approximately two miles from the Black Rock Wreck location.

“But with the wind blowing constantly from the east, and a current running from that direction, the ship would have drifted,” Keith said. “That could have happened after it was lightened by salvage, as well.” Keith and his team used careful measurements of the hull and after years of research to amass compelling circumstantial evidence, concluded in August that the Black Rock Wreck could only be the Trouvadore.

Keith and Carrell knew from the start it would be difficult to find artifacts to identify the ship. “People of these islands traditionally have used resources from sunken ships. There are houses built on Grand Turk from ship remains,” said Keith. “We knew the ship had been salvaged upon sinking, and we weren’t going to find a bell with ‘Trouvadore 1841’ on it.”

The archaeologists learned about the Trouvadore while tracing the current locations of artifacts from the Islands that were sold to museums in the U.S. and Europe over a hundred years ago. Examining records about “African idols” that were sold, they found the account of the Trouvadore wreck.

“It's rare and exciting to find a wreck of such importance that has been forgotten for so many years,” said Frank Cantelas, marine archaeologist for NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.  “By identifying the Trouvadore, Don and Toni have really made a contribution to history and given the Islands’ people a better sense of place.” 

Keith and his colleagues also discovered the wreck of the U.S. naval vessel Chippewa, lost in 1816. The researchers discovered a line of carronades, a unique type of cannon carried by the Chippewa, near the reef off Providenciales, which the vessel reportedly struck. The Chippewa and the Onkahye, sunk in 1848, were part of America’s efforts to stop the African slave trade and piracy by patrolling the Caribbean. Keith plans to continue work on the Chippewa wreck site and hopes to discover the Onkahye nearby.

Commerce and Interior Departments Announce National System of Marine Protected Areas of the US

The U.S. departments of Interior and Commerce today jointly announced the availability of the final Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States, completing a cooperative, multi-year effort to provide a comprehensive approach to the protection of the nation’s natural and cultural marine treasures.

The National System of Marine Protected Areas is the first formal mechanism for coordinating MPAs across all levels of government. The agencies also announced the nomination process for federal, state, territorial, tribal and local sites to join the National System of Marine Protected Areas.

MPAs are defined areas where natural or cultural resources are given greater protection than the surrounding waters. In the U.S., these areas may span a range of habitats including the open ocean, coastal areas, inter-tidal zones, estuaries, and the Great Lakes.

“Today’s announcement highlights a new focus on working together across jurisdictions to conserve our common ocean heritage,” said Timothy Keeney, deputy assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere. “Through the national system of MPAs, we will have a more efficient, effective approach to conservation of the nation’s important natural and cultural marine resources.”

The publication of the Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States of America provides a blueprint for building the national system of MPAs. The framework outlines key components of the national system, including overarching national system goals and priority conservation objectives; MPA eligibility criteria; a nomination process for existing MPAs to be included in the national system; and a science-based, public process for identifying conservation gaps in existing protection efforts where new MPAs may be needed.
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“A national system of MPAs will ensure that our ocean’s resources are conserved for future generations,” said Kaush Arha, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. “Our nation as a whole will benefit from this comprehensive and representative system that not only enhances conservation and collaboration, but also identifies areas that are currently not adequately protected to ensure their long-term viability.”

In addition to public comments, extensive advice on the development of the national system and the Framework came from the 30-member MPA Federal Advisory Committee (MPA FAC) – a group composed of natural and social scientists, state and tribal resource managers, commercial fishermen, anglers, energy and tourism industry representatives, divers, and environmentalists. The MPA FAC was created in 2003 and has been working since then to develop recommendations for designing and implementing the national system.

Mark Hixon, MPA FAC Chair and Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University, notes that “Marine Protected Areas can be a controversial topic, yet the process we announce today is evidence that people with different views and interests can collaborate on the management of our valuable ocean resources.”

MPA FAC Vice-Chair Bob Zales II, owner of Bob Zales Charters in Panama City, Fla., and President of the National Association of Charterboat Operators, added, “The national system provides a science-based and transparent process for identifying areas where new protection efforts may be needed. This is the type of open process that ocean users want to see.” 

Presidential Executive Order 13158 of May 2000, calls for a scientifically based, comprehensive national system of MPAs that represents the nation’s diverse marine ecosystems and natural and cultural resources. NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center led its development on behalf of the departments of Commerce and Interior, and in consultation with federal agencies, coastal states and territories, tribes, federal Fishery Management Councils, and the public. The national system does not establish any new legal authorities to designate MPAs, but provides a mechanism for MPAs across all levels of government to work together more effectively to achieve common goals. 

The Department of Commerce, through NOAA, and the Department of the Interior will build the national system gradually over time. Priority conservation objectives, identified in the Framework document, will guide the development of the national system and identify existing MPAs to be included, as well as conservation gaps which might be addressed through the establishment of new MPAs.

Today also marks the start of the nomination process for sites to join the national system.  MPAs meeting the eligibility criteria defined in the Framework are invited to nominate themselves through their federal or state managing agency. All nominated sites will be available for public comment.

MPAs that are accepted into the national system will be the focus of cooperative efforts to address common resource management challenges and will be placed on the official List of National System MPAs, which will be available to the public via the Federal Register and on the Marine Protected Areas Web site.

NOAA expects the final Framework document to be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 19. The Framework document is available for download.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

NOAA Announces Up to $47 Million for Hurricane Damage to Fisheries in Louisiana and Texas  

November 18, 2008

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced the state of Louisiana will be eligible for up to $40 million and Texas will be eligible for up to $7 million in disaster aid to restore and rebuild the states’ fish habitats and fishing industries devastated by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

“These two hurricanes hit communities that had not yet recovered from the disastrous Katrina and Rita hurricanes in 2005,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “We are pleased that the states have shown a strong interest in using this aid to restore damaged oyster reefs, remove storm debris that hinders the shrimp industry, and to rebuild processing houses, docks, ice houses, and other parts of the fishing infrastructure destroyed by the hurricanes.”

The states will now submit plans to NOAA’s Fisheries Service outlining how the funds will be used.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.