“Sea Dragon’s” Sargasso Sea Expeditions

May 20, 2013

Calling all Bermuda boaters! You are cordially invited to join the Heritage Weekend Flotilla being organised by the Bermuda Alliance for the Sargasso Sea [BASS].

On May 26 BASS wants you to join the flotilla of boats escorting the research vessel “Sea Dragon” as she departs Bermuda for the first of two Sargasso Sea expeditions.

BASS’s members include  Atlantic Conservation Partnership, Bermuda Institute for Ocean Science (BIOS), Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI), Bermuda National Trust, Bermuda Audubon Society, Greenrock, Bermuda Sloop Foundation, the National Museum of Bermuda, Look-Bermuda Education Foundation, and the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS)

“Any size boat can participate,” said a spokesman.  ”Be part of the fun and raise community awareness of the importance of being the only landmass in the Sargasso Sea.

While in Bermuda, “Sea Dragon” will make a three-day and a five-day exploration of the Sargasso Sea. The trips will be supported by two weeks of shore-based laboratory/public awareness/education activities, concluding with a one-day “summit” to chart the path toward a Sargasso Sea conservation strategy.

Focusing on the Sargassum seaweed community — plankton, mid-water fishes and squids and seabirds — scientific teams [made up of Bermuda and visiting scientists, with the assistance of student interns, teachers, decision-makers, advocacy groups and film makers] will record, collect, photograph and preserve some of the most iconic Sargasso Sea biodiversity including their genomes.

The “Sea Dragon” is a 72-foot steel hulled sailing vessel built in the UK in 2000. One of 11 second generation yachts built for the Global Challenge Race, she was purchased in late 2007 by Pangaea Exploration LLC, with a mission to learn about different parts of the world and how they are being affected by, and subsequently dealing with, the changes in the global environment.

In her new role, the boat provides a superb platform of rugged capability, capacity and efficiency with a naturally low environmental footprint.

The vessel has the ability to safely take the expedition across vast areas of the world’s oceans, in almost any conditions for extended voyages. The vessel now has a mix of double and single bunks to hold 12 people and a work room.

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle has called the Sargasso Sea the “golden floating rainforest” of the Atlantic Ocean.

Consisting of drifting mats of Sargassum seaweed, the Sargasso Sea covers nearly five-million square kilometres of ocean, bounded by the Gulf Stream and other currents that constantly shift its position.

“Bermuda is well positioned for assuming stewardship of the Sargasso Sea,” said a BZS spokesman. “It is the frequent home of many of the Atlantic’s most charismatic migratory creatures, such as humpback whales and Bluefin tuna, and the permanent home to thousands of unique invertebrates and fish, all interconnected in a dynamic web of life about which there’s much still to learn.

“Bermuda is the only landmass in the Sargasso Sea, which is itself a unique marine ecosystem based on two species of Sargassum that form drifting mats on the ocean’s surface. Within this vast area, Sargassum mats are critical habitats that function as nurseries, spawning areas, and feeding grounds for many pelagic species of marine turtles, birds, fish, and eels.”

Given this is a highly productive and unique ecosystem, the Bermuda Government and its international partners are concerned about protecting the Sargasso Sea from emerging threats such as proposals to harvest Sargassum for biofuel, plastic pollution, oil pollution, and over-fishing.

“With the increasing recognition of its crucial role in supporting species in the wider Atlantic – from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico – there is now intense advocacy to have the Sargasso Sea declared a pelagic marine protected area [MPA], making it an internationally recognized sanctuary.

Sea Dragon

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  1. Squirrelfish says:

    BASS is a bit of a joke isn’t it? What do all these people do all day and who pays for it? I haven’t noticed any new science or even basic information about the Sargasso Sea from this crowd. If they’re producing it they must be burying deep in the ocean. They seem to spend most of their time organizing cocktail cruises for foreign fish huggers who want an excuse to pass through BDA for a few days. How about doing some real studies on our reef and pelagic fish? I want to know if my grandkids are going to be able to eat local rockfish, tuna and wahoo. At this rate we might not even have any grunts left.