Reef Check

February 2001, BURMA / MYANMAR:

Moshira Hassan, the European coordinator for Reef Check carried out the first surveys on coral reefs in Burma / Myanmar.

Here is her report:

"I received a mail on Thursday Jan 25th telling me I could join an expedition on the "cult-ship" The Indies Trader. 2 days later I sat in the plane - you just can't miss an opportunity like this!

"The Quiksilver Crossing" is an expedition sponsored by Quiksilver, travelling in search for great waves. They believe in conservation of the environment - and because they go to remote areas of the world they sponsor Reef Check."

Results:
"In brief I can say that the corals were in relatively good health in the areas we saw (Mergui Archipelago). I was astonished to see that there was such a high percentage of living coral considering that the visibility was so low (less than 5m/17ft while we were there!). We found up to 75% of living coral coverage!

Coral reefs generally prefer clear waters with low nutrient levels. These corals must have adapted over the hundreds of years to the high influx of sediment from the many rivers in the area.

Unfortunately, however, as in so many areas of the world, the reefs were greatly overfished. Large fish as well as invertebrates such as lobsters or sea cucumbers were rare. They are not only fished by Burmese fishermen but also from boats coming in from other countries. We need to find solutions in a world, in which so many people want to eat, if we want to effectively protect coral reefs. Reef Check is the first step to this protection, and I am glad we have the opportunity to start this process in Burma.

Europe Conservation Switzerland was a great support for Reef Check during this trip. In fact, many of the surveys were conducted from their Catamaran Sea Nomad. The Capt. of the Sea Nomad Luca Schueli also participated in the surveys & Louis Jordi, the zoologist on board, also caught the Reef Check-virus. They were so enthusiastic about the whole thing that they bought 2 complete sets of dive gear at the end of the expedition. They have decided to regularly support Reef Check in Burma as of next season!

Europe Conservation also established further great contacts for us in the region. We will have the opportunity to send a scientist on a liveaboard twice a year as of coming fall. If you haven't booked your dive vacation yet: wait a few more weeks, we can then give you the exact details of the next Reef Check in Burma."