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
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Reflection: Building Artificial Reefs

Step Reefs

My experience at TRACC revolved around building step reefs which is a type of artificial reefs. Step reefs are placed on the slope of the ocean bed to serve as wave barrier.( If you're confused don't worry! I was too when I first started. But you'll pick up things easily at TRACC)

It's funny when I first heard the term "step reef".  I thought it was a square reefs just like steps of a stairs. I had a lot of questions playing through my mind. Was it big? Was it small? Was it square? Only later did I realize it was simply a square with glass bottles attached to it. If I had the time, I would have spent it trying to play around with the materials used in building the step reef such as steel or twigs. (Maybe I'll come back next year!)

Making a step reef is not as complicated as it seems. The main material used are cements and bottles. You mix the cements on a crate and add the bottles to it. It's simple! Of course, it's going to take some hardwork such as working in the sun and able to dive a couple of times a day to plant the reefs underwater. Sometimes, I get exhausted but then I realize how much impact I get to make to the environment and that motivates me a lot.

Hardworking :)

TRACC provides training and a place to make your artificial reefs. In fact, I wouldn't have even learned most of the things I have without training. My experience at TRACC will help my goal to pursue my education in marine biology which is something I'm deeply passionate about. More than that, I gained valuable experience as an intern here - how often does anyone get to say they've had hands on experience building coral reefs!




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

What the Turtle Volunteers have been up to

About 25% of TRACC volunteers from May-September come to monitor the turtle nesting. It isn't possible to dive all day and walk round the island all night so this program is specifically for people who want to do some conservation without the expense (in either money or energy) of diving and reef restoration. They walk quietly round our lovely little island in the silence of the night and then snorkel peacefully in the heat of the day.


The turtle volunteers are also conducting in-water turtle surveys to monitor the turtle population and activity around the island. We've found that the green turtles outnumber the hawksbills by 10:1, but that the population dynamic is different. The green turtles are transitory adults; spending their days sleeping and eating in the shallows, mating and nesting. The hawksbill turtles tend to be resident, active juveniles.

Once the female greens are ready, they haul themselves up the beach and wander round it (often for hours) trying to find the perfect place to lay their precious eggs. We don't have any photos of this because any sort of disturbance at this point will have them beating a hasty retreat. So our turtle volunteers sit in the dark waiting for the girl to be ready.

Finally, when everything is perfect she settles into a semi-trance and starts to lay her eggs. She lays anywhere from 30-150 eggs depending on her age and how long she's been holding them. Often a female will return to the beach and go through the nesting process two or three times before she's finished for the season.

At this point the volunteers get face down in the sand for the enviable privilege of catching turtle eggs straight out of the mother. The eggs are all collected carefully and transferred to the island hatchery where they are safe from human poachers. There are no natural predators of turtle eggs on the island and if it wasn't for poaching the nests could be safely left in situ to develop naturally.

Although turtles are totally protected species and there are stiff penalties for taking their eggs, the local stateless people have very few economic opportunities. The poaching of turtle eggs is a major source of revenue for them but a major threat to turtle conservation.

All credits to Wirginia Romanowicz-Basiak for the photos.

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

Blog posts about TRACC 2015

Linda on Pom Pom Island
during a visit to TRACC volunteer camp

TRACC has been visited by some interesting bloggers who write stories about their travels and experiences as a diving volunteer.  These are a few blog posts that we have found and saved.

Linda and the people 

traccborneo-the-first-days

tracc-restoringcoralreefs

5-reasons-to-volunteer-at-tracc

Julia the wandering rain godess

Interview with Flick

Interview with Rachel

Sadie the eclectic traveller

Linda and Sadie

Eclectic traveller

A day in the life of a tracc volunteer

Rebuilding coral reefs

Photos to make you love Turtles.

Why Are We Doing Another Fish Identification???

Extracting Crown of Thorns, 

Photo Friday: A Turtle’s Journey

Photo Friday: The Blue Ringed Octopus!!!

World Ocean Day at TRACC

 

Saying Goodbye to TRACC

More reviews about visiting TRACC and reviews about the Cambridge Examination Marine science A level.

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

Coral Planting Exhibition 31 May 2015

TRACC Coral Planting Exhibition 31^st May 2015

Emily teaching the next generation
about the threats facing our oceans.

With 75% of all coral reefs on our planet considered severely degraded, reefs are an ecosystem that need lots of positive human intervention.  There are many stressors facing coral reefs including climate change, ocean acidification, increasing amounts of persistent organic pollutants, overfishing, destructive fishing practices (including blast fishing and cyanide fishing) and coastal development. All of these, at least in some respects, are caused by human activity.

Coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean, and, like the rainforests; they are shrinking at an alarming rate. They cover less than 2% of the oceans benthic environment but ¼ of all oceanic species depend on them. They are an important and fragile ecosystem which we as a species are having a negative effect on. It is for this reason why TRACC with support from the SGP/GEF/UNDP is holding a series of coral planting days open to the general public. Our aims are simple, to have the public actively involved with conservation, and, whilst they are doing so, educate them on the fragility of the ocean and how they can help. 

Visitors learning about coral planting and reef restoration

Todays exhibition was held on the 31^st of May 2015 and was second in our series of planned events for the Tip of Borneo. The team arose early in the morning to secure a booth on the beach. With thanks to the local police force we had a supply of electricity. Our booth (shown above and below) had many informative banners on coral planting, shark fin soup, ocean pollution and blast fishing as they are the main issues around this area. Here we presented what we know to be local threats affecting local environments and discussed it with our visitors. After showing the public about some of the threats facing their local environment, all were motivated to partake in some hands on conservation. At this stage we introduced them to our coral planting techniques.

What are Corals?

Large groups getting involved with the
important work of rebuilding coral reefs

Firstly to know about coral planting you need to know what corals are. Corals are animals like you or I. However, they grow like plants and also they get their energy from the sun.  They do this by having algae live inside them. The corals act as a landlord and the algae pay rent with food. This mutually beneficial relationship between two different organisms is known in the science community as a symbiotic relationship. Both corals and algae need to be in good health to produce a healthy reef. A healthy reef provides; hunting, grazing, breeding and mating grounds for ¼ of all oceanic species. Healthy reefs mean healthy oceans; this is why at TRACC we focus on these bio-diverse hotspots. 

Jason making artificial reef,
the foundations of coral planting.

What is Coral Planting?

As corals grow like plants, it is possible to plant coral. All you need is a piece of live coral and a hard surface for it to grow on. What we do at TRACC is collect corals from the reef that have broken off in storms or through anchor damage, these corals would normally die and so we call them corals of opportunity. We embed these corals of opportunity into cement. The cement then sets underwater and you then have a coral you now plant. We then use these embedded corals to add life to our artificial reefs, creating an artificial coral reef.

How did our event run?

Coral planting is hard work, as all who have volunteered at TRACC will know. [For more information on volunteering with TRACC click HERE]. It mainly consists of diving, collecting coral fragments,  making cement structures and lifting heavy cement blocks into place! To make this easily engaging for the public we had to do a little prep work.

Over the last four weeks, the entire TRACC science team has been preparing in Kudat for these upcoming events leading to World Environment Day and  World Ocean Day.  Firstly a large, stable underwater site had to be found, here we dropped our bottle reefs in a square fashion – these will make a large stable artificial reef which, after the event, will be where the corals are permanently planted. 

(Other reefs we made in Kudat 2014/15 within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park -->Here)

Keeping the corals in water
to minimize stress and
increase survival rates

Secondly we pre-made molds. These are small concrete disks, roughly the size of a coffee mug, with holes in (you can see them in the photo above). These provide the ‘plant pots’ for our live coral. The idea is that the small disks, which we have named biscuits, act as a base for the corals. The small holes in the disks have coral fragments put inside them and they are then cemented into place ready for planting.  

On the day of the event it was an early start for all. The team was split up into two group. One who set up our information booth, along with all the essentials for coral planting. The other team was in charge of collecting corals of opportunity. It is important to collect these on the day to minimize the stress facing the corals. The more stress the corals undergo the more they are likely to bleach and die.

Mixing the cement into a thick paste,
which is best for planting the corals

Picking which coral fragment
will grow well in her biscuit

All visitors who came were given a small cup sized container in which they mixed sand, cement and water so make a thick paste.  After this they would come to the area where the corals were being stored. Our staff would talk them through the biology of corals and help them choose suitable coral fragments. The public would then plant the coral fragments in the pre-made biscuits mentioned earlier, and help return these to the ocean ready for placement in our nursery the next day.

The finished product: a coral biscuit ready for
planting back in the ocean

In total, we planted three full boxes of coral fragments, a huge achievement in a days work. I’d like to thank all who participated in the days coral planting as well as my co-workers Kit, Jason and Emily - who have been working very hard to make these large events run as smoothly as possible.  Thanks also to the SGP/GEF/UNDP for assistance with funding these events.

More about engaging the community to protect reefs.


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To know more about our coral planting techniques and our upcoming events  please like us or follow us on Facebook or google+ or read our tweets :-)


The Volunteers blog  for accounts of our conservation efforts, reef construction and surveys.


More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia.

butterfly fish survey

To survey the biodiversity of fish around Pom Pom we have started doing surveys by family since we have such an abundant of fish species.

First one to go was Butterfly fish, the survey was done at the Northern Tip divesite.

We not only saw a good diversity of Butterfly fish, species to be published later, we also saw a big school of about 20 bumphead parrotfish with a clown trigger fish in the middle of the school, and so many other beautiful ocean creatures.
Maria

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

Fun diving

TRACC is not just conservation dives and diving courses, we also go fun diving. Myself, I love conservation dives, but sometimes it's nice to go out and just dive and appreciate all beauty around me.
Today was such a day, we got the privilage to see the beautiful ocean life and just enjoy.

The dive took place at a site called magic rocks which is in the south of Pom Pom island. Best time to dive here, in my opinion, is when the tides settled to avoid to strong currents. I like to do my dives slow.

Water temperature was 30 degrees, visibility about 17 metres and the sea was calm. Pretty perfect day here, nice to cool down in the water.

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

Razor fish

Ahhh Pom Pom Diving

Today we went diving at the wall at North Tip of Pom Pom Island, Borneo.

It was amazing, saw a rare orange tube anemone, pipefish, lion fish, big schools of fish in so many different colors, a turtle and so much beauty.
Water temperature was 30 degrees, visibility in the shallows endless and in the deep it must have been over 20 metres.
First time to try out my new camera, great pictures which I am sure willl get better as i learn what all the buttons are for.
Maria

moorish idol

Tube anemone

Grouper

tube anenome

Pipefish

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

The sea is getting warm again

Cool yellow Nudi!

    The past few weeks were not exactly comfortable for diving due to the upwelling of cold seawater ( 24deg C), bad visibility due to the plankton blooms from the nutrients in the upwelling seawater and abundant clouds of zooplankton and strings of juvenile jelly fish. Thank goodness for stinger suits,  :-)  Fun dives were actually not so fun, work dives were typically torturous if we need to stay underwater for a long time (Work is work though, and it needs to be done). 

Giant Nudi!

So you can imagine how grateful we were when we realize the water has become warm this morning. The temperature was pleasurably cool at 27°C, and there was no stinging jelly fish anymore. Water is crystal clear now. On top of that, the sea seems more lively than usual: we saw fish spawning and many colourful nudibranch ^^

The upwelling is great for the Cambridge A level Marine science 9693 students, they have an on the door step example of how physical oceanography, changes the environment and the biology follows suit.  

We have watched offshore winds make the sea millpond calm but distinctly chilly, phyto plankton blooms turn the water green, then copepods eat the phytoplankton, and then clouds of small fish eat the copepods.  The whole food web process was happening in the sea in front of the classroom.   The best bits of course have been the whale sharks which came to eat the zooplankton and small fish.  As I write this there is a huge school of anchovies in the shallows trying to avoid being food for a larger fish by jumpig out of the wate in a shimmering wave.

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

The Cambridge Marine science A level class 9693 starts mid January each year for exams in May/June.  The course is approximately 12 weeks and leads to a full A level.  All students to 2016 have done really well with amazing grades including the BEST marine science student in the world for 2 yearsw running (2015 & 2016). This course is ideal if you want to boost your qualificatons during a gap year or learn something useful while you travel.  Email info@tracc-borneo.org to find out more or make a booking.

TRANSECT PROJECT AT TIP OF BORNEO

   The Transect Project is carried out to survey the reefs around TOB. The purposes of this project include:

1. To look for potential sites of other TRACC projects (E.g. the on-going Bottle Reef Project for reef recovery)
2. To obtain data of reef condition (Required by the government for marine park establishment)

The project is indeed a tough one considering the number of factors we need to encompass. First we need to make sure that the research design is one that can produce accurate data of the reef condition. This is of course the first and foremost absolute rule of any scientific survey. Secondly, the device used must be durable enough to withstand the wear and tear over time, especially during monsoon season. Since we might be initiating new project on the surveyed reefs, we need resilient markers that can lead us back to the desired location in the future. Then, we need to consider the procedures of our in situ operation. We doubtlessly have a number of excellent divers and experienced researchers in the camp, but not everyone has good combined skills hence close cooperation is the key to work efficiency.

The project has been going on for about a month to date. We’ve completed data collection of more than half of all targeted sites despite the obstacles we met: rough sea condition, lost tools, malfunctioning compressor, terrible visibility, lack of experienced underwater researcher etc. etc…. I’m genuinely grateful that we’ve managed to pull things off so far. Pray that everything will go smooth from this point onwards and we can finish this project soon ;-)

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

Pom Pom revisited

bottle nurseries

Yesterday we revisited our Pom Pom camp in preparation for the re-build.
Here's the before pictures..... keep following our blog for the after-pictures coming soon :)
We also have bottle nurseries ready for deployment creating new habitat for marine life and to act as buffering from storms.

The view however doesn't need any fixing, it's perfectly amazing just as it is.

In a month the camp will be better than this :-) 
More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

dive shop

bottle nurseries

Camp area

Kitchen

View

View

Moonset in TRACC TOB Camp

We’ve seen sunset so many times that we do not spend time to sit on the beach and enjoy the view anymore. But it was an exception last full moon. A number of the volunteers and staffs stayed awake (or sleeping) on the beach and waited long for the moon to set on the horizon.

This was what we saw =)

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

Muck Diving in Kudat

Muck Diving in Kudat

        We all know scuba diving on a coral reef is an amazing experience, with colourful corals and an amazing array of marine life. With everything from spectacularly coloured fish to tiny shrimp, and all that’s in between.

        However, there is a whole world of weird and wonderful waiting to be discovered out on the sandy flats, which brings us to the often underestimated MUCK DIVE!

        Sure you won’t be instantly overwhelmed by the obvious beauty of a coral reef, but with a bit of patience and a keen eye the inhabitants of the muck are well worth the search.

        Out on the sandy flats of Kudat are some creatures you have to see to believe.

In this harsh environment lacking in shelter, the cunning creatures who call the muck home, are always on the lookout for cover, be it a discarded can or coconut husk.

        We have been building artificial reefs out in these baron environments, which has resulted in the reefs being swiftly populated, and left the surrounding sand flat teeming with life.

          The list of organism we at TRACC encounter includes: 

Mimic octopus

Frog fish

Ambon scorpionfish

Urchin carrier crabs

Snake eels

Sting rays

Sea horses

Ghost pipe fish.

         With such an impressive list of locals it can be hard to focus on the task at hand ;) but the work must go on.

         So the next time you’re on a dive and you see the sandy planes lurking just off the reef, head out there and explore, you may be rewarded with the treasures of the ocean not found by many.

          For more information on the exciting experience that is muck diving watch:

         ‘Mucky Secrets’ on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJMZ6reOB0E

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers