========================= Bleaching Report =========================== ************************************************************************ ****************** Bleaching in American Samoa ************************ ************************************************************************ Report from: Alison Green Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Australia Date: 24 November 2002 "I was in American Samoa in March this year (2002) while it was right on the edge of the large hot spot that spread from the GBR through Fiji and almost to Samoa. Since we were right on the edge of the hot spot, we included bleaching in our survey of five islands (about 30 sites) in the archipelago. Our results show that American Samoa experienced low to moderate levels of bleaching at that time. Observations by local managers suggest that the bleaching got slightly worse after we left." ======================================================================== NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Project NOAA/NESDIS 25 November 2002