PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program 009: Nomilo Fishpond, Kauai, Hawaii

The nearshore sensors are part of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) and are designed to measure a variety of ocean parameters at fixed point locations. The PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program (WQSPP) supports scientists and natural resource managers to collect water quality data in order to inform research, conservation, planning, and resource management projects in the U.S. Insular Pacific region. Comprised of a network of "roving" water quality nearshore sensors, the WQSPP provides participating partners with sensors, data management, and technical capacity-building to allow for robust data collection. As part of the WQSPP, Kauai Sea Farm deployed a nearshore sensor at Nomilo Fishpond along the south shore of Kauai. The fishpond is a naturally-formed resource within an ancient volcanic caldera located in Kalaheo and has a centuries-long history of food production. However, it has been underutilized in the past 100 years and is undergoing a renaissance. To reduce excessive phytoplankton and prevent oxygen depletion events, the seawater channel between the pond and ocean has been restored and shellfish farming has been introduced. A research project is also expected to introduce native sea cucumber aquaculture to better cycle nutrients along the pond bottom. The PacIOOS water quality sensor has been utilized to measure changes in four areas of the pond throughout the 10-month deployment to assist with spatial planning and optimization of aquaculture activities and to determine potential impacts of these activities on the aquatic environment of the fishpond. The instrument is a Sea-Bird Scientific SBE 16plus V2 SeaCAT CTD coupled with a Sea-Bird Scientific ECO FLNTU optical sensor.