dredging & coral spawning

[Noah, Michael POJ]

Susan,

I'd check with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Waterways Experiment
Station (WES) in Vicksburg, Mississippi (USA).  I don't have those
particular references with me here in Japan, but whatever I'd have would
have probably come out of WES anyway.

The Manager of the Environmental Effects of Dredging Program is:

Dr. Robert M. Engler
		U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station
		ATTN: CEWES-EP-D
		3909 Halls Ferry Road
		Vicksburg, MS  39180-6199

His e-mail address is: englerr at ex1.wes.army.mil
<mailto:englerr at ex1.wes.army.mil> , or you can call him in the U.S. at
(601) 634-3624.

Mata ne,
Michael

 <<...>> 
US Army Corps
of Engineers
Japan District

Michael D. Noah, Ecologist	DSN 263-5065	COMM
011-81-311-763-5065
Box 81  (CEPOJ-PP-E)		DSN 263-8869	COMM
011-81-311-763-8869 FAX
APO AP   96338-5010

Michael.Noah at poj.usace.army.mil <mailto:Michael.Noah at poj.usace.army.mil>





		-----Original Message-----
		From:	susan.burr at saipan.com
[mailto:susan.burr at saipan.com]
		Sent:	Friday, April 17, 1998 12:28 PM
		To:	coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
		Subject:	dredging & coral spawning

		The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island's (CNMI-
Saipan) Coastal
		Resources Management office has a permit condition that
requires all
		dredging operations to cease during and five days after
the yearly hard
		coral spawning event.  They have recently been asked by
a permittee to
		provide scientific justification for this permit
condition.  The dredging
		operation in question is an archaeological excavation
that will be using a
		suction dredger to remove sand and a clamshell dredger
to remove boulders.
		The immediate site has approximately ten percent coral
cover and the
		adjacent reef has 10-60 percent coral cover.  The site
has a relatively
		strong longshore current and wave action is high.

		Does anyone know of any citations to justify or refute
this permit
		condition?  Is the CNMI's condition more or less
stringent than other
		jurisdictions?  Should dredging operations be required
to cease during the
		soft coral spawning as well?

		Thanks for everyone's help.  You can reply directly to
me at
		susan.burr at saipan.com.
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		---------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------
		|       Susan Burr
|
		|       CNMI Division of Environmental Quality |
		|        PPP 171  Box 10000
|
		|        Saipan, MP  96950-9504   USA            |
		|
|
		|        Phone:  670.234.1011
|
		|        Fax:  670.234.1003
|
		|        E-mail:  susan.burr at saipan.com       |
		|
|
		|
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