First impressions of changes to Pom Pom reefs.

TRACC has just moved back to Pom Pom Island and the first batch of volunteers move from Kudat to Pom Pom on the 11th May.  The camp development team has been hard at work building kitchens, cleaning everything, digging wells, installing electricity, putting up tents and sneaking in a little dive at the end of the day.

While we have been working for a year in Kudat at the Tipof Borneo, all the Pom Pom reefs planted in 2012, 13 & 14 have been growing.  Our crate and bottle reefs are doing well, the cement from the biscuits are smothered by coral growth and there has been lots of natural settlement.

The cement biscuit is completely covered
 by the rapid growth of this Millepora (fire coral)

The fish life is now amazing, On today's dive we saw dog tooth tuna, 4 species of Trevally, a school of 60 long fin banner fish, 2 red snappers, 25 black snappers, uncountable red tooth triggers, The list goes on. Suffice to say that it is obvious that when we do scientific surveys of numbers we will find an amazing increase in fish numbers, diversity and size,
 Plus the reliable turtles - 7 were visible at one time and we saw 11-12 during a 1h dive.

Oh Boy its good to be back.  :-)

growth of corals on biscuits in the nursery

More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

A nice branching coral.