Bahía de la Habana

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Surface Area
5.20km2
Average Daily Freshwater Inflow
4.00m3/s
Average Depth
9.20m

From: Alcolado, Claro-Madruga and Estrada, 2000; Brittanica, 2004; C. Agular et al, 2003
The Havana Bay is located in the city of La Habana in the province of La Havana. It is a deep-sea bay with a sheltered harbor, which has contributed to the economic development of the city since Spanish colonial times in the early 16th century.

Havana Bay is considered to have highly organic and chemical polluted waters, and it has affected nearby areas such as the Almendares and Quibú Rivers, as well as the underwater sewage outfall point located east of Havana Bay entrance (Playa El Chivo). That nutrient enrichment produces a great proliferation of fleshy and filamentous algae in the fringing reefs located near Havana Bay, Río Quibú, Playa El Chivo (Habana City) and near the entrance of Mariel Bay (at the North-Western end of Havana Province).

A narrow shelf with rocky and sandy bottoms allows for the growth of these reefs and various fish communities. The main invertebrate groups in fringing reef areas are sponges (Niphates sp., Holopsama welggi, Callispongia vaginalis), gorgonians (Plexaura flexuosa, Eunicea spp.), and scleractinian corals (Siderastrea radians, Porites astreoides). These communities show a decreased abundance and gradient of responses near Havana Harbor.

References

  • Alcolado, P.M., R. Claro-Madruga and R. Estrada, 2000, Status and Prospectives of Coral Reef Management in Cuba.. paper submitted for publication in the Proceedings of the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali, Indonesia. ReefBase. A global Information System on Coral Reefs. http://www.reefbase.org/references/ref_Literature.asp?searchactive=yes&… (28 Mar. 2004)

  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2004.

  • Aguilar C., Gonzalez-Sanson G, Munkittrick K.R. and MacLatchy D.L. 2003, fish assemblages on fringing coral reefs of the northern coast of Cuba near Havana Harbor. Centro de Investigaciones Marinas. Universidad de la Habana, Havana, Cuba. Department of Biology and Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Branswick, Canada E2L 4L5.

  • Ramos, I., M. Fuentes, R. Mederos, J. O. Grimalt, and J. Albaiges. 1989. Dissimilar Microbial Hydrocarbon Transformation Processes in the Sediment and Water Column of a Tropical Bay (Havana Bay, Cuba). Marine Pollution Bulletin 20: 262-268.

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