A wave buoy which provides information on wave height and direction, sea temperature and other important data was recently tampered with.
The American Samoa wave buoy provides invaluable real-time information to agencies, such as the National Weather Service, and helps fishermen, commercial operators and other ocean users to make decisions about safety at sea.
The buoy which is damaged, located more than three miles off Aunu’u, provides wave height, direction, period, and sea surface temperature every 30-minutes.
Two weeks ago, the wave buoy was intentionally tampered with before it broke free from its mooring.
The buoy will be out of the water and out of commission until replacement parts arrive on island.
The National Weather Service depends on data from the wave buoy.
Acting Meteorologist in Charge Hans Malala says, “The wave buoy provides accurate information and a better understanding of how our local waters interact with our changing weather and climate.”
He said the Aunu’u wave buoy is the only one in local waters and the National Weather Service depends on the information from the buoy for warnings, watches, advisories and forecasts for marine interests and coastal areas of American Samoa.
Tepora Toliniu Lavata’i, Project Leader of Shore-based Fisheries at the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources calls on the public to please help keep the buoy operational and avoid any unnecessary down time.
She asks ocean users to carefully navigate around the wave buoy, refrain from tying to the equipment, and avoid fishing near the buoy to minimize entanglement in the mooring line.
DMWR Director Dr. Ruth Matagi Tofiga, stressed, “As an island community, we all benefit from the wave buoy. It helps to keep us safe, both on land and in the water.
“Agency officials need this important data to warn community members of approaching storms and dangerous waves that could potentially impact the shorelines.
“The wave buoy also provides information on rough ocean conditions that could threaten the safety of alia fishermen and alia boats traveling between islands, and helps to prevent incidents at sea.”
