ICOSMAP conference

This week two TRACC scientists, Thomas Gibson and Kit Wui Sien, went to the

International Conference of Oceanography & Sustainable Marine Production (ICOSMaP) 2016

This was hosted by the Marine Science Department at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Kuantan, Pahang, from 23rd to 26th August 2016.

Kit presented his work on step-reef construction techniques and Tom described recruitment to new reefs.
Tracc also showcased our data on the Mabul Shark Fishery (2014)(PDF)
and the Community Coral Planting project (2014-16)(PDF) which is funded by the GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) implemented by UNDP.

Link here to the abstracts, the posters and the manuscripts.

 

  

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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 

check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

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TRACC has opportunities for scientists, media or social science students

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please consider financial support and follow our projects on Facebook.

Destruction of a reef

TRACC sometimes goes to Kapucan to do a hard coral collection.   There is no shortage of broken coral suitable for replanting,

Easy to collect coral fragments from a smashed reef

When I was here in 2012/2013 this area was beautiful, there were the occasional bomb craters but they were not common. Now although there are still nice areas it have been blasted to bits.

The only good thing is that the corals we rescued will live
and grow on a protected reef.

Wr dove with 50+ year old hard corals which would weigh 200kg+ out of the water laying broken and lifeless on the sea bed so 1 ignorant individual could make an easy days money, it's heart breaking when you see this going on, because there are people like this all over the world, e.g. cutting down thousands of acres of rainforest in South America and Borneo Indonesia. Destroying coral reefs in the South China Sea, shark finning in Indonesian waters that has decimated shark populations and it goes on.


Paul Fadden 26-aug 2016 


The reef before was beautiful with amazing corals.  Now there are still small undamaged reef patches but there are no fish.  the blast fishing kills even the tiny fish so even the good coral is barren and lifeless. 

compare most of the reef now - below with the undamaged patches -  right,

Our other visits to damaged reefs are equally Heartbreaking.

If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

Coral identification

The easist corals to study are in the lagoon and
are very shallow at low tide.  However even with the books
and easy access it is hard to identify hard corals to family
and we can identify very few to species.   YET :-)

More blogs on Marine science class 2016
More info on the Cambridge Marine science A level class


Become a volunteer in 2016 here

Conservation projects 2016

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

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Volunteering AND Making A Difference

Counting Corals underwater

At Pom Pom island, overfishing and fish bombing activities have caused unstable slopes and damaged reefs. If you ever have the chance to snorkel around Pom Pom, you’ll realize how there are many fragments of corals on the bottom. These corals will eventually die if they can’t find a spot to hold on to and grow. Here is where TRACC makes a difference. TRACC strives to produce around 1000 -2000 coral biscuits (from scratch) every year – some of which have now grown into big corals and help fishes!

When I first heard the term “coral biscuits”, I thought it was a food? (Maybe I was hungry when I had that thought). But when I took my first dive and saw a couple of them on the sea bed, I was amazed. There were massive amounts of coral biscuits around TRACC’s nursery points. Before you go finding for them at Pom Pom, beware that they are actually very fragile. A slight impact could break them! Imagine how I felt when illegal fisherman bombed a huge site filled with coral biscuits?!

Coral biscuits are made by putting small amounts of cement in a plastic pot and adding coral fragments onto it. I’d like to imagine it being a playground for fishes (no see saws though)

I’ve been long enough at TRACC to call it my second home. It has all kinds of fishes, artificial corals, and cool people. I’m reflecting back on my experience at TRACC and it has been nothing but great! It’s one of those rare places where people truly feel welcomed even though that’s your first time stepping into TRACC. I’ve been inspired in some sense to further TRACC’s mission to preserve the ocean and coral reefs. Maybe I’ll get to have my own center one day?

If you’re interested in coral reef conservation, TRACC would be a good place to do this. Not only do you get hands on experience on it but also get to be a part of a community where you learn about conservation. I’m not just saying that I really mean it!

To volunteer and help with coral reef restoration

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
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on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

Malaysian Interns 2015

Our 2015 Malaysian Interns are finally here!

Malaysian Universities require their students to do twelve weeks of Industrial Training as part of their degree course. This year our lucky interns are coming to us from both UMT and UMS and have backgrounds in Marine Science or Conservation Biology. They successfully beat the rush back in December and were undeterred by the challenging application process; Allen, Martinus, Nadia & Shaakirah have finally made it all the way to an exciting internship with TRACC on Pom Pom, Sabah, Malaysia.

They will learn to scuba dive and (once they get past blowing bubble rings for hours) how to get to work underwater. Cement mixing, concrete lifting and lowering, reef rebuilding and coral transferring are all part of the days work at TRACC. This is part of our major restoration work where we stop the decimated rubble reef from moving and plant healthy baby corals in stable conditions. These in turn grow, stabilize the rubble further and provide critical habitat for all the other denizens of the reef.

On top of this, they will be undertaking research rotations with our resident scientists on the long term projects TRACC has running. These include fish, coral and invertebrate identification to species (there are over 300 species of fish alone!). The coral garden identification and mapping project (the coral id book comes in 3 volumes!). Soft coral stabilization of steep, mobile, rubble substrates ("Perhaps we can use soft coral to "stitch" the reef back together so that it stops moving enough for us to replant it".). Turtle daily migration patterns (Seriously, where does George go every afternoon?).

Finally, they will be mixing with people from different places, ages, backgrounds, opinions and experiences and discussing and debating all the marine science, conservation, ecology, anthropology, sociology and politics that affect the marine environment. The critical thing that unites everyone at TRACC is a love of the ocean, a passion to preserve what we have and the dedication to restore what has been damaged.

Allen, Martinus, Nadia & Shaakirah have a unique opportunity to witness the problems and take part in the solutions for themselves before graduating as enthusiastic Malaysian Scientists.

Good Luck Guys!



For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

The luxury of just walking in

When it comes to diving, Pom Pom is pretty spectacular. Just the luxury of putting your dive gear on, take a short stroll down to the beach and just walk in. Even from the surface you get a glimpse of just how amazing your dive is going to be. And when you descend, you just look around you and every time realise how lucky you are to be diving here on this beautiful island.

Soft coral planting to stabilize the reef slope

The house reef is so full of life and amazing critters. I think there is something for everyone here, except perhaps shark lovers, so far I haven't had the privildge to see one.
But if you love corals, sponges, anemones, fish, molluscs, nudibranchs, macros and volunteering with conservation this is the place to be.

For more information, about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 
 
please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

Invaders must die, the anemone fish doesn't seem too happy
about about the angel fish in their home

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

A net is put over the reef slope and
soft corals planted to stabilize the rubble substrate

Joining TRACC as Education Intern

      I was about to complete my Master’s Degree and was hoping to take some time off from studies before continuing my PhD. Going for a working holiday was the plan, and I had been searching for a place where I can do something meaningful and have fun at the same time. It was then I came across TRACC webpage and found out that this marine conservation organization was doing education projects as well.

Lauren had been teaching Longgom kids for
 3 months and the kids loved her.

      TRACC have had an intern teaching kids in the village Longgom before. This time the housewives asked to have a Kelas Ibu-Ibu conducted so that the women, who mostly hadn’t much chance to complete their education and hadn’t any other way to learn as much as they like, could have someone to teach them English. I had been teaching English to adults and secondary school children for some time before I started my Master’s, so teaching the mothers in the village was not really a tough job. The difficult part was travelling through several hills on dirt road in a car I very much worry might break down anytime (Just kidding, of course =P).

      It was indeed inspiring to see the housewives being so passionate in improving themselves. The class started with 8 students, and at one time there were 12. Using materials provided, the ibu-ibu were taught how to converse in English in various daily situations. I realized many of them understood English quite well, and a few of them could actually speak English though not very fluently. What they needed was more scenario practices with simple sentences which they could use as a natural response when they’re spoken to in English. Aside from that, they needed to build confidence in speaking English. After all, no one speaks perfectly in any language, so who can laugh at them if their 3^rd or 4^th language isn’t perfect?

My most hard working students,
attending every class from the beginning till the end.

      But then, probably learning a language was not an easy task for all, and probably the villagers have started getting busy on their farms with the raining season approaching… not every student who at first signed up for the programme remained till the end until TRACC left Kudat. Regardless, I’ve tried to teach as much as I can. And to make sure they can continue learning even after we leave I’ve left some books and CDs for them to do self-studies.

      The mothers were glad that TRACC has sent people to the village to teach them English. I myself hope that they will keep on improving themselves – with better English they can actually sell their handicraft directly to tourists rather than handing it to a middle man – they can earn more and make their life easier. It could make great difference, especially to the single mothers.

Sometimes the children join in and learn alongside
their mom.  Can't be more welcomed, mothers are
always the best role model for the child =)

Emily with TRACC - Tropical Research And Conservation Center
— at Tip of Borneo

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

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
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or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

 

Management note:--- The education programme is important and we will restart it as soon as possible.

Mapping the house reef

Last week a team went out to map the house reef, I the self proclaimed photographer in training went with them.

Don't mind me, I'm just scratching myself

I did get some photos of our great team working with the mapping but was also distracted from that by the natural beauty of marine life, what can I say.. diving at Pom Pom is so amazing that you just want to take photos of it all.
I mean who can resist a turtle scratching himself....it is no wonder that the structures that TRACC creates dont always grow in the way we expect.  The turtles rearrange things to suit their itches.




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

Jo carrying the heavy crate with sand filled bottles to be used for the mapping

Placing the survey line markers gently on the seabed.

The 3rd auditorium, our newest addition

Jo chilling out after work well done

Tom preparing one of the mapping bottles

For more information, about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 
 
please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

Exceptional diving with barracuda school on Pom Pom Island

School of Barracuda at Magic Rocks,
Pom Pom Island

The School of Barracuda at Magic Rocks, were just amazing,
The diving on Pom Pom Island over the past few weeks has been exceptional, with every single dive being a stand out. The marine biodiversity is truly amazing and the variety of diving that can be done here needs a solid mention as well.
Yeah man! 
It's gotten so much better here! 
Maori Wrasse and Giant groupers are around, saw an eagle Ray yesterday as well. 

Steve thinks the Mauri wrasse are the ones that TRACC rescued from fishermen in 2013 & 2014.
 
And then the macro life is as good as it always was!

Oscar
DM with TRACC - Tropical Research And Conservation Center
— at Pom Pom Island

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

Search #tracc 

Coral planting on step reefs to repair sloping rubble reefs

The step reefs with coral biscuits to repair sloping coral reefs
were built by the Kalapuan community
as part of the TRACC SGP/GEF project

The Tracc SGP/GEF coral planting project has been busy building step reefs to hold the biscuits and repair sloping rubble reefs.  Pom Pom Island and many of the reefs in the Semporna district have a very steep slope of rubble.  The reef crest was blasted by bomb fishers in the past and now all that is left is a slope of coral fragments.  These are unstable and move gradually down the slope.  Most larval corals which settle are abraded off or smothered by the sand as the rubble rolls down the slope.


The community of Kalapuan island has been building our complex step reefs during 2014.  Made of cement mortar with two rows of bottles, the back row of bottles is taller than the front.  The undersurface during manufacture or the top surface after positioning has indentations which correpond exactly with the shape and size of our coral biscuits in the nursery.

The step reefs with coral biscuits have a variety of coral species
to increase diversity of the repaired coral reefs.

To date (May 2015), the community has built slightly over 250 of the steps which will be sufficint to make many cluster or auditorium reefs and will provide long term protection for nearly 2000 coral biscuits from our coral nursery.

Millipora coral spreading from the
coral biscuit across the step reef.

Pocillopora coral growing from a fragment
in a biscuit into a healthy coral
supported by a step reef

Porites coral has completely overgrown
the original biscuit

Porites coral has completely
covered the original biscuit

igloo reef assembly - underwater

under construction

more fun and games were had with the igloo reefs as they were assembled underwater.

You may also want to read about our coral planting for world ocean day or Growth of the branching corals in the coral nursery.  or Step reefs or Bottle reefs or Shark cave reefs or igloo reefs

More blogs about TRACC marine conservation centre   

Videos about TRACC  - Mabul shark week 2015 - White tip reef sharks -

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