Tobago is to be part of an international coral reef early warning system, said Tobago House of Assembly Secretary of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and the Environment Godwin Adams.
Adams said specially-manufactured buoys will be installed at world-famous Buccoo Reef in southwest Tobago and at the reef offshore Speyside in east Tobago this week.
Adams told last Wednesday’s post-Executive Council media briefing that the system known as CREWS (Coral Reef Early Warning System) was in keeping with activities coming out of the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) working in collaboration with the Division.
He explained that the buoys will monitor climate change, coral bleaching, and changes in the reefs, identify any damage done to them and other marine activities around the island at an early stage.
He said the data would be transmitted to a central location at the Buccoo Training Centre, adding that this data would then be transmitted throughout the Caribbean and internationally.
“This in a sense is an internationally operated system to check on reefs around the world,” he said.
Adams said the first buoy will be installed at Buccoo Reef on Wednesday and the other at Speyside on Friday.