"The shipwreck led us to focus on its spawning aggregation," says Rouja, referring to when a species of fish gathers together in greater densities than normal with the specific purpose of reproducing.
One such species is the Stoplight Parrotfish. This type of local knowledge has informed Bermuda's efforts to revive numerous fish species and promote healthy reef ecology.īy protecting the shipwrecks and restricting fishing nearby, the government has simultaneously created ideal conditions for depleted fish populations to recover. You just don't see them, and so it's obvious that things have changed dramatically when something that's that ubiquitous to a reef area is just absent." "I think these were things that were just a common feature of the marine environment around Bermuda, and, you know, they're just not here. "Teddy's talking about fish that I know I've never seen, but he's also talking about sharks," laments Rouja. Most notably, it highlights the stark changes in the marine environment over the last half-century. It's a map, hand-drawn by Teddy Tucker and annotated with notes on fish populations. He admits that it's often too easy for scientists to get caught up in data, but "the wholeness of a story that includes a local perspective resonates across a much broader spectrum than a purely professional or a purely academic one."Īs a prime example of this, Rouja pulls out a weathered scroll of paper from his office. “A s good as we can be as scientists, we are not the guys who are living in it 24 hours a day, who will have perceptions that go beyond the couple of hours or even the months or years you might attend to something as a scientist," says Rouja.Ĭombining scientific research with local knowledge is the cornerstone of his strategy for conserving Bermuda's shipwrecks. The Caraquet, like many of her sister-wrecks, represents not just the islands' cultural heritage but also environmental heritage, since wrecks act like a reef by providing protection to spawning fish populations. Giving shipwrecks that work to do is actually a big part of the work I do." So, when you're out looking at a shipwreck, because you care about the history or you think shipwrecks are cool, suddenly you're also learning about the rock fish that lives on that shipwreck or the particular spawning aggregation that's next door. They are actually a great segue for people into the marine environment that might otherwise not get there. "Aside from its scientific importance, there's a connectivity importance, that people can connect to a period of history, a shipwreck, the ocean," says Rouja. The Bermuda 100 Challenge also allows anyone on the internet to take a virtual dive and experience Bermuda's cultural and environmental heritage. The models provide a snapshot-in-time and comparing them tells a story about the evolution of both Bermuda's wrecks and the environment. Rouja is at ease underwater, seemingly weightless as he snaps photos of the wreck.ĭiving with a camera, Rouja documents the current state of Bermuda's wrecks, using photography to create 3-D maps and models in a partnership with the University of California San Diego for a project called the Bermuda 100 Challenge.
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