| Linval Getten and Vernon Somerville with the Negril Marine Park monitor the water quality at the mouth of the New Savanna River. They test for nutrient, ammonia, phosphate and nitrate levels. They find an increase in the nutrient levels during harvest season, when the fertilizer from the cane farms run off into the rivers. A presentation is given to the community every year to share the monitoring results and discuss the problems of pollution. The pollution of the rivers has a direct impact on the sea fish, since this pollution flows into the sea, can kill the coral reefs and the fish cannot feed in the reef area anymore and will leave.
Other problems include a lot of dynamite fishing taking place in the sea, which has a big impact on the environment and destroys coral reefs in addition to the fish and other marine life. The Negril Marine Park has programs to educate school students about taking care of the environment and they hope the students will in turn go home and educate their parents and family about environmentally friendly practices.
Panorama taken 2/1/06
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