Growth of the branching corals in the coral nursery

under construction

Shark cave reefs

This week, our Malaysian community workers and our international volunteers have been making shark hiding reefs. This is the TRACC version of proactive marine conservation. Our philosophy is that if we see a problem, then we should work towards a solution.

From the plastic recycler, we aquired a number of large flat trays which were ideal for the roofs for caves for sharks. We attached crate reefs filled with plastic waste (cutup water bottles) which increases the surface area for sponge and cryptic organism settlement as well as providing a myriad of small spaces for post larval and juvenile fish crabs and other tasty small organisms to hide. The design gives a sheltered cave environment similar to the caves we have seen being used by bamboo and coral cat sharks. The upper surface of the cave and the crate supports will be planted with corals which will eventually completely camoflage the artificial reef structure.

During our surveys, it was noted that there was a lot of food for benthic sharks such as coral cat sharks, brown banded bamboo sharks epaulete sharks and nurse or leopard sharks. Unfortunately the sharks are rare if not completely absent from the reefs where we are working. When the proposed new Marine Protected Area, Tun Mustapha Park MPA is finally gazetted then we hope to witness an increase of fish life as the overfishing is brought under control. With sustainable fishing, we should eventually see an increase in small sharks numbers. We hope that a demonstration of the value of community action such as our SGP/GEF project near the Tip of Borneo (Simpang Mengayu) will lead to more projects around the region using the techniques we are developing to improve and rebuild the reefs close to each village.

The whole assembly of the shark cave reefs is fixed to the sea floor by glass bottle reefs attached to each corner. Because of the size the reefs were assembled on land and then taken underwater in pieces. The various parts were put back together and large cable ties were used fix all he components into place. The area of seabed chosen has considerable wave action so the reefs were staked to the seabed using steel rods. A total of 12 shark cave reefs were made and positioned in three different areas.

The finished shark cave reefs look suitable for lobsters as well as bottom living sharks, only time will tell which marine creatures take up residence.

Crate reefs for larval fish

Crate reef for larval fish recruitment.

Crate reefs were filled with cut pieces of plastic to make many small spaces.  The plastic was recycled from the trash on the beach.  The crate was bedded into cement to make it heavy and to hold everything together.

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 

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

Marine science lesson at Santubong Nature Festival

Santubong mountain with its pristine rain forest
was the backdrop to our beach surveys.

TRACC was invited to the Santubong Nature Festival to help celebrate the great biodiversity and scenery.  Bec and Steve flew down to Kuching and stayed at the really nice Permai resort whcih has tree houses built at the level of the canopy.  There was lots of great terrestrial life seen and our task was to compete with the amazing snakes and insects.  There are quite a few dolphins in the bay and these can be seen regularly.

We took more than 30 people on a beach walk and looked at Sandy shore environments.  Ghost crabs, hermits, sand dollars and worms were all found.  We tried to explain about zonation and we created beach profiles with a simple survey teachnique to show that different species are common at differnet levels of the beach.

Seven amazing weeks diving at the Tip of Borneo

I have just spent 7 of the most amazing weeks of my life at TRACC’s Kudat camp. The diving on the west coast of the Kudat Peninsula is absolutely staggering, with heaps and heaps of colourful corals and a huge diversity of fish and other marine life as well. When the weather prevented us from diving on the west coast, we took day trips to the east coast which is just as awesome. During my time with TRACC I completed my open water and Advanced Open Water Diver certification and was able to participate in loads of underwater adventures.

Learning to make several different types of artificial substrate, using glass bottles, plastic bottles, crates and black pipe all anchored in cement bases, helping to search for suitable locations and then placing the constructions in those locations gave me a immense sense of triumph, especially when small fish began to explore them and as soon as the structures were in place. We collected lots of live coral fragments from storm damaged reefs at the lighthouse, attached these fragments to the substrates and watched them grow. It was truly incredible to see how quickly the corals are able to begin colonisation and flourish on the new substrate. Towards the end of my stay, I participated in several survey dives to search for cuttlefish along the inshore reefs and describe the topography and features of the reef in preparation for a cuttlefish spawning event that is expected to take place in January to March each year (I only wish I could be here for that).

I was also a willing participant in several exploration dives to off shore reefs such as Batumandi rocks rarely explored by humans. These expeditions were a highlight of my internship, being able to compare the difference in diversity of the near shore reefs and the off shore ones. The visibility at these reefs went forever and the fish species were abundant.

You would never guess
 that I was claustrophobic
 when I started.

Steve and the staff at TRACC are extremely friendly, helpful and full of information for those who want to learn, all you have to do is ask. I have learned more in the past 7 weeks than I have in the past two and half years of study. It is an honour and a privilege to have been involved with such a fantastic organisation and able to help with their conservation projects to preserve the biodiversity in this area. I will miss you all and look forward to seeing you again soon.

I have already booked my return trip next year so that I can bring my husband and two teenage sons over here to see for themselves how being passionate about something and getting involved can actually make a difference.

TRACC has a great series of Projects planned for next year, I hope I can get back to Borneo.  Marine conservation volunteer projects 2015

Who Goes Where - A guest blog

We'd like to share with you a guest blog from our recent visitors, Chris and Sarah!

http://whogoeswhere2.blogspot.my/2014/06/perfect-pom-pom_4.html

Endangered Humphead wrasse almost extinct in Semporna

Where have all the big fish gone?  Long time passing?  where oh where! Fishermen ate them everyone, long time ago!  (with apologies and thanks to Bob Dylan)

Large sub adult male humphead wrasse on
Sipadan island, the only place on the east coast
of Sabah with a breeding population.

Scary fact--- The biggest wrasse and one of the most charismatic fish on a coral reef is almost extinct in the Semporna region.  

TRACC divers have just finished (Dec 2013) a coral reef survey of Timbun mata island, a large volcanic island (70km long) to the north of Semporna. The ocean surrounding Pulau Timbun Mata is not legally protected but the land is technically a forest reserve, there were plenty of big trees but the mangrove was definitely being harvested close to Semporna.

On the north side the island has a fringing reef with quite steep slopes. Severely bombed in parts but there were a few remote areas which still had good coral cover. While the sea bed cover varies with the amount of blast fishing and other variables there was at least 50% live seabed at all the offshore reef sites to the north of Timbun Mata. In many places, the living reef cover exceeded 80% and was very biodiverse with a wide range of different species.

Fish pots made of wire have decimated
reef fish populations in some areas.
  This pot is upside down.

Surprisingly there were no HHW seen on any of the 150 transects at 50 different locations around the island. Groupers, snappers sweetlips and grunts were all noticable by their absence. There were almost no commercial fish.  

The low fish diversity and abundance is most probably related to the widespread use of fish pots. At some sites more than 5 fishpots /100m were recorded. There were very few fish of commercial size at any site. Blast fishing was widespread and there is a clear gradient of blast fishing from high close to the villages to low at the reefs further from the villages. Some reefs were reduced to rubble with very low fish and coral diversity and abundance, however most reefs were patchy with blast damage confined to the shallower reefs. Reefs at 10-15m were relatively intact with high coral cover and diversity.

Femaile Humphead wrasse have no hump
But have a characteristic eye stripe

We are not the only survey team to find very few HHW in the Semporna area. A study by a team from WWF- Malaysia surveyed 35 sites with 64 transects during 2008/9 covering all unprotected reef types across the entire Semporna reef system. There were no humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) observed during any of these surveys. The only populations of humphead wrasse in Semporna were found on the reefs of Sipadan which are protected from fishing and destructive fishing practices by the presence of Sabah Parks and divers. There is a very small population of humphead wrasse on Pom Pom Island following the introduction and release by TRACC of 6 individuals rescued from a live fish restaurant. (MORE)

 

Other species are also severely overfished, very few grouper (Serranidae) or other commercial fish were observed during the surveys. These results from Nina Ho and Ken Kassem in 2009 and from TRACC in 2013 indicate severe overfishing of these commercially and ecologically important species.

There is a small population on Pulau Sipadan, where does it get its recruits from?  The island is too small to hope that larvae find their way back to the tiny island.  From the TRACC surveys around the whole coast it is clear that there is no other population upcurrent from any of the Semporna islands.

More info on humphead wrasse and the live fish trade.

If the humphead wrasse of Sipadan die because of recruitment failure then the species will be regionally extinct and will deserve to be upgraded from endangered to critical (IUCN red list).

 

Ho, Nina & Kassem, Kenneth. (2009). Reef Status of Semporna Priority Conservation Area. Kota Kinabalu,

Malaysia: WWF-Malaysia

Dolphins around Pom Pom

We saw a pod of Dolphins,  how cool is that.  Swimming between Pandanan and Pom pom island.  We stopped the boat and drifted and they surfaced quite close.  You could even hear the whistles.  fantastic.

Dolphins and other marine mammals are not common in the Semporna area of Sabah, Malaysia.  Even on Mabul and Sipadan (world famous dive sites 70km from us) there are very few marine mammals seen. 


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

Diving the N. Tip of Pom Pom island

The north tip of Pom Pom island (Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia) is a wall dive with the best wall starting at 30m. The reef crest at the north end of the Pom Pom reef wall has a large flat plateau The current splits at this point and there is a choice to swim either W around the N tip wall or East around the Fleavie wall.

The boat ties to the mooring and we kit up. Quick check of the current direction and last minute gear checks and we are off.

Backwards roll dive entry into 3-4m of water next to a large mushroom shaped bommie and a large area covered with bottle reefs planted by TRACC. The reef slope is covered with rubble and macrolife such as nudibranchs and frogfish can be found. Our dive is to go deep, so we pass rapidly across this shallow dive site down to 20m. A quick ok and then we curve off to the left and down a gully. The visibility is awesome at least 40 and maybe 50m and the wall looms up some way in front. The currrent has started to pick up and there are increasing numbers of small schooling fish. Big black coral bushes (“I must remember to ask the TRACC scientists why black !!! coral is actually red or white or green”) and a school of bannerfish mark mark the end of the gulley. I learn later that in 2012 when TRACC first surveyed the island of Pom pom, there were 3 of these schooling bannerfish. Now they are impossible to count. Everything is so approachable, the current is quite strong and all the fish are facing the current looking for food and ignoring the divers. A shoal of bait fish swims past and the big fish follow, 2 giant trevally, a small group of no idea (rainbow runners – id later from the photos) and a larger school of the bluefin trevally. I stop on the corner of the wall and try to get a good photo of the red tooth triggers when the school of big eye trevally swims past. Not worried by the 4 or was it 5 species of trevally, the small fish suddenly scatter. Swimming along the wall is a huge dogtooth tuna. It glides past a few metres away and then all the small fish return. Beep Beep, all to soon the computer says go up and then the best part of the dive started.

As we slowly ascend cross the plateau we see one or two then 5 or more, green turtles resting. Each bommie has at least one large female turtle and in the water column, a male is cruising looking for action. The females are not timid, they generally ignore divers, one female lifts off slowly and the nearest male cruises alongside. I learn later that mating was finished a few weeks ago, but the males are still searching for a willing partner. The cameras are clicking and I can see my buddy gesturing for me to swim into the right place to get that fantastic picture of me and a turtle drifting across the reef.

We gradually ascend to 9m and the seabed is a flat gentle slope of broken rubble. There clearly was a great reef here once but the blast fishing has decimated the fragile coral and it looks like the gravel when a road is being built. The vis is definitely 40m and I can see rubble in all directions, flat and featureless. But ahead past the dive master is a cloud of small fish. I look closer and they are living on a bottle reef. It is made from a ring of glass bottles embedded in cement and then the centre of the ring was plastic bottles. The whole structure is covered with coral and spomges and only a few bottle tops can still be seen. The fish definitely like it - there is a sabre tooth blenny hidden in the neck of lots of bottles and many many small fish. It is easy to see that the artificial reefs built by TRACC volunteers are making a huge difference to reef recovery..

Floating up into the shallows, there are more TRACC reefs, the ribbon reef snakes across the reef crest and is a highway for butterfly fish, blue devil damsels, anthias and many others. With successful artificial reefs like these I am fired up and will definitely be making reefs this afternoon.

Rescued humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus

Tracc (Tropical research and conservation centre) on Pom Pom Island Semporna, have just rescued 6 humphead wrasse ( also called mauri wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus) from a certain death as the main course for dinner in a live fish restaurant. The volunteers and staff agreed not to drink any beer for a week but to put the same amount of money into a kitty to purchase the folorn looking baby humphead wrasse. TRACC as an organisation agreed to match the volunteers beer fund and together we were able to find enough money to buy all 6 of these endangered fish.

Growout cages full of Humphead wrasse in 2002,
 in 2013 there were 6 fish in this cage

Growout cages full of Humphead wrasse in 2002,
 in 2013 there were 6 fish in this cage

The IUCN endangered species list (the Red list) (Endangered A2bd+3bd ver 3.1) lists humphead wrasse as endangered but TRACC surveys around Semporna and the whole Sabah coast found very, very, very few. Apparently a normal population is around 10 individuals per hectare but in our 370+ hours of surveys on Pom Pom Island and other nearby islands in the Semporna district we found a population of less than 1 individual per sq km. That is a reduction of more than 1000 times - definitely severely endangered. A normal reef should have 10 individuals in a hectare (about the size of a football pitch) but during multiple dives on many different islands and reefs we saw an average of 1 small HHW in each 100 hectares. The information we have for Semporna district is scary but it is not unique, ask any diver and the numbers of humphead wrasse on any reef that is not 100% protected and the answer is always zero. In our area at least, the fish are severely endangered if not regionally extinct and definitely need protection.

The Juvenile HHW fish were transported to Pom Pom Island in a large dustbin filled with seawater and released onto the reef crest at around sunset. The next few days were a bit harrowing as the divers searched and reported none seen.

Small female Humphead wrasse

HOWEVER, I am pleased to report that at about 5 days later we have now seen 2 of the rescued juveniles and they seem to be behaving normally, wandering around the reef and looking for food. Still very shy to hard to approach and get a good picture.

Apparently the fish becomes mature at about 6 years, so our juveniles have a long way to go and we hope to see them many times over the next few years.

As the voice of the rescued fish I would like to thank TRACC and my fellow volunteers for contributing the cash to rescue these 6 fish.

TRACC also rescued coral cat sharks this year :-)

Aug 2013