Dr. Richard Nemeth and his team document both the slow recovery of Nassau grouper in the U.S. Virgin Islands and illegal trapping of this endangered species in the Marine Conservation District.

70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans and, as the US Virgin Islands are mere specks in the northeastern Caribbean, we are directly impacted by its influence. Oceanography is the study of the Earth’s oceans and is central to understanding the mysteries of its vast yet largely uncharted depths. Learn more about the important Oceanographic research taking place in the VI EPSCoR Ridge to Reef Project.

Our islands are vulnerable to marine debris. Marine debris affects our everyday life, from the awful sight of it on our beaches, to the economic toll that it can take on our tourism industry. In the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), approximately 90% of marine debris comes from land-based sources. It is up to us to prevent and reduce the amount of marine debris that ends up on our shorelines.

Already stressed coral reefs in the USVI have suffered through another coral bleaching event, surpassed only by the catastrophic 2005 bleaching event.