Maldivians assess reef health - Divernet
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Maldivians assess reef health 30 November 2014
Research into Maldives reef life has been carried out for the first time by an all-Maldivian team, at Velassaru Faru reef, south of the capital, Male.
Research skills have been built up over several years by a number of Maldivians, training in Reef Check methods with the help of Dr Jean-Luc Solandt of the UK’s Marine Conservation Society and of Biosphere Expeditions. Tuition has been carried out since 2011 at Male’s Marine Research Centre and during Biosphere research voyages around the Maldives archipelago. The survey was organised by Rafil Mohamed of the Divers Association of Maldives and Shaha Hashim of the local NGO Gemana, both of them having qualified with Biosphere as Reef Check Ecodiver Trainers, and by Adam Ashraf of Dive Desk. Team members included Ibrahim Shameel of the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme and volunteers from NGOs and the Maldivian sport diving community. The team recorded fish, invertebrates and substrate components at depths of 5m and 9m. indicated a reef with good resistance to bleaching and modest algal growth, with plenty of nibbling parrot fish to keep algae at bay. Survey results
However, few invertebrates and grouper fish indicated over-fishing, for which evidence was seen in the form of many lost or discarded fishing lines. This having been the first Reef Check survey of Velassaru Faru reef, results will act as a baseline for further studies.
08/12/2014 06:14