Project report : NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette, Project SE-16-02, Legs I & II, 13 April - 31 May 2016, American Samoa, Rose Atoll, and Jarvis Island Oscar Elton Sette, Project Report SE-16-02

Personnel from the Coral Reef Ecosystems Program (CREP) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office, the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, the Bigelow Laboratory for Marine Sciences, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of Hawaii conducted stationary-point-count surveys of nearshore fish assemblages and associated benthic habitat in the waters surrounding American Samoa and Rose Atoll to supplement the reef fish component of the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) using closed circuit rebreathers (CCR) and open circuit scuba (OCS). Small boat and diving field operations occurred on April 15-21 and April 26-May 5, 2016. In addition, collaborative coral bleaching research was also performed at Jarvis Island, Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument on May 16-25, 2016. All activities described in this report were covered by the following permits: Environmental Assessment (PfFSC-20 I 0090 I); Endangered Species Act, Section 7 consultation (PIR-2015-9580); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Permit: USACE POH-2009-00083 (effective date: March 18, 2014; expiration date March 18, 2017); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex Research and Monitoring Permit: 12521-14001; American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Scientific Permit: 2014/010; the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Permit: FBNMS-2014-003; and the National Park of American Samoa Scientific Research and Collection Permit: NPSA-2015-SCI-0003.