Save the HBOI ship and submersibles

The Johnson-Sea-Link I & II submersibles are owned and operated by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Fort Pierce, Florida. They are launched from the HBOI research vessel R/V Seward Johnson, a 204-ft ,purpose built ,state of the art platform redesigned in 1994 which displaces 1282 tons and has a 6,000 nautical mile range. An experienced captain and crew constantly maintain the R/V Seward Johnson as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Fleet of research vessels. A team of highly skilled sub pilots operate, maintain and upgrade the submersibles according to strict safety protocols. The Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles were built in 1971. Almost four decades, 9,000 dives and continuous upgrades and improvements later, the Johnson-Sea-Link I submersibles and II, along with their support ship the R/V Seward Johnson, remain invaluable platforms for exploring the oceans.

The ship and subs are frequently spotted on Discovery, PBS and BBC documentaries. The skill of the crew on R/V Seward Johnson is vital to the successful launch and recovery of the JSLs, getting the submersible in the water from deck in under 4 minutes in seas up to 8 ft. The submersibles are favored by cinematographers for their maneuverability, panoramic view and ability to accept specialized cameras and tools. Similarly, they are favored by scientists due to their versatility, interchangeable tool packages, room for four persons, video and still cameras, as well as the most robust payload capabilities of any research submersible. The pride and professionalism of the R/V Seward Johnson crew and submariners is irreplaceable, as are the resource they provide.

Notable achievements of these submersibles and research vessel:

• Obtaining the first video survey of the Civil War ironclad the USS MONITOR

• Locating the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 for NASA

• Discovery of unknown coral reefs off the coast of Florida

• Over the past twenty-five years, HBOI has conducted collection expeditions around the world. Benthic habitats have been sampled from the Caribbean, eastern Atlantic, tropical western Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Southern Pacific.

• About 100 natural products extracted from those marine invertebrates have cancer fighting properties and some of them are currently in evaluation by pharmaceutical companies.

• Discovery of the Oculina (ivory tree coral) reefs off the coast of Florida in 1975. Oculina reefs only occur in Florida; nowhere else in the world.

• Health assessments of the Oculina reefs off the coast of Florida and Lophelia reefs off the east coast of the U.S. were conducted in the JSL for many years. These health assessments led to the implementation of Oculina Habitat of Particular Concern in 1984, and the extension of protection to deep water reefs off the eastern U. S. in 2008.

• Fish spawning aggregations at the Oculina reefs and other deep water habitats have been monitored with the JSL. This is of importance to assess the health of deep reef habitats and the human impact on them.

• Collection of bioluminescent marine organisms,and other deep-sea animals with the JSL has increased our understanding of the optics and morphology of different marine species.

• Deployment of the exploratory deep-ocean video monitoring system, Eye-in-the-Sea

• According to Google scholar, about 1000 published scientific studies relied on the use of the JSL. These range from habitat exploration, mapping, description of marine vertebrates, invertebrates and bacteria, and new technologies to increase the submersible capabilities.

Unfortunately, the current administration of HBOI has announced its decision to sell the R/V Seward Johnson and retire the JSL submersibles in spite of a lack of technologies with similar or better capabilities at HBOI, FAU or any other institution on the East coast of the U.S. While some argue that this expensive technology is outdated and tied to its mother ship, this view is not shared by the scientific community. The Alvin submersible operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts is 10 years older, and still performs between 150 and 200 dives a year. No one considers the Alvin 40-year old technology, or criticizes its dependence on the research vessel Atlantis for its deployment. It is still considered a valuable workhorse. While NOAA has just awarded HBOI a 22.5 million dollars grant to be a Cooperative Institute, in part due to their ability to perform oceanographic study with such tools as the R/V Seward Johnson and JSL submersibles, it is unclear whether these assets will be supported by that grant money. Unless a new source of funding is found to support these technologies, the current administration will continue their plans to abandon these technologies. Maintaining and operating these technologies is expensive, and the HBOI administration lacks the funds to continue to support these assets. Thus, it is critical for the State of Florida to invest in these amazing technologies to further our ocean exploration and our scientific progress.

Since FAU is a state university, the submersibles and research vessel are property of the State of Florida and the taxpayers should have a say in choosing whether these amazing technologies which are helping us discover and protect our underwater assets should be maintained. These are expensive technologies to maintain, but their benefits far outweigh their costs. If you believe that the state of Florida should invest in science, education and technology, please sign this petition to indicate to our legislators that you believe the HBOI ship and submersibles should be saved from sale or retirement and supported by the state of Florida.