Gov. Togiola and DOC deputy director return from
historic trip to Rose Island
Governor Togiola Tulafono and Department of Commerce deputy director Lelei Peau recently returned to the territory after joining scientists on board the Hi’ialakai on a trip to the Rose Atoll, the seventh of the American Samoa Islands.
In preparation for the trip, both Togiola and Peau underwent training to become certified scuba divers. While there, the pair had the chance to go ashore Rose Island with Refuge Manager Don Palawski of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
(The Governor has been an avid free-diver for much of his life).
The scientific voyage included the presence of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who accompanied the Governor and Peau on board the marine science research ship, the Hi’ialaka, to conduct coral reef ecosystem monitoring surveys around Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, in support of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program.
The vessel and the team of scientists were on a 75-day study of US islands in the Pacific, including American Samoa. The cooperative study was to assess and monitor the health of the territory’s coral reef resources.
The surveys, led by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division of NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, are part of NOAA’s Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) which conducts benthic habitat mapping, ecosystem assessment and long-term monitoring, and oceanographic observing throughout the U.S. Pacific Islands including each of the American Samoa islands every two years.
This was the Governor’s first trip to Rose Island (Nu’uomanu). While there, he participated in various safety drills and exercises, including nightly scientific planning meetings to discuss each day’s accomplishments and make plans for the following day(s).
Peau reported that each day at the Rose Atoll, the ship launched five small boats used to conduct extensive diving operations to observe the fish, corals, and other marine life of the reefs. As a result, he and Togiola were able to observe the “beautiful coral reefs” of the Rose Atoll. The two also got a first hand look at the many operations through snorkeling with chief scientist Dr. Rusty Brainard and his colleagues as they conducted their work.
Peau said they witnessed the deployments and recoveries of the coral reef early warning system and sea surface temperature buoys, subsurface temperature recorders, autonomous reef monitoring - structures, ecological acoustic recorders, and towed- diver surveys of benthic composition, invertebrates, and large fish.
“The Governor was amazed and impressed as the towed divers flew by, surveying large portions of the reef each day,” Peau said, adding that Togiola was also impressed by the professionalism of the scientists who performed the dives, as well as the spectacular beauty of the corals, giant clams, and reef fish near some coral pinnacles inside the lagoon.
During a morning tour of Rose Island, Governor Togiola came across a historic monument installed by the U.S. Navy 80 or so years ago - a monument that had fallen over and was mostly buried in the sand.
According to Peau, the Governor suggested that work be carried out to uncover the monument and reposition it so that it would stand upright. The Governor then devised a plan, seeking assistance from Dr. Brainard, the officers, crewmembers, and scientists to help in unearthing the three-foot concrete pillar and then using leverage to raise the monument to an erect position.
Once unearthed, a circular brass plate with the inscription: "U.S. Navy Survey" on top of the monument was discovered. But this wasn’t the only unique find. The Governor also identified three different green sea turtle tracks that led to areas where the turtles dig up soil to lay their eggs. Many of these rare green sea turtles return year after year to use Rose Island as a nesting site. Aside from turtles, hundreds of thousands of seabirds also nest on the island. The sooty terns were particularly numerous during this visit, with upwards of one hundred thousand birds making their home on the 14-acre island.
“These birds literally fill the sky overhead as one approaches, and the noise of their calls to their mates is deafening,” Peau recalled.
The Rose Atoll is nearly square with each side being approximately 1.5 miles in length. One of the most striking features of the Rose Atoll is the pink hue of the fringing reef, created by a crustose coralline algae that is also the primary reef-building species at the atoll.
After meeting with the members of the scientific party and the crew to learn more about NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program and the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program, Togiola said he has a completely different understanding of and appreciation for the work that went into the production of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa: 2002 - 2006.
Governor Togiola disembarked the Hi’ialakai on Thursday, March 13.
His participation on the cruise was an important milestone for coral reef conservation and management in the region. He successfully witnessed and learned a great deal about the coral reef ecosystems under his jurisdiction, and became much more knowledgeable about the value of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program
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