Sunset swim

Best time of day

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  

Creating igloo reefs - on land

under construction

Igloo reefs to attract shoals of fish

The team of Malaysians and international volunteers have been having fun over the past few weeks making igloo reefs for our SGP/GEF project near the Tip of Borneo (Simpang Mengayu). These are bottle reefs attached together by plastic pipe bent into an arch shape and then assembled into an igloo shape. The plastic pipe has a large number of holes drilled in it to make a suitable attachment point for coral fragments which will be fixed by cable ties. These igloo reefs are intended to act as very open shelters to schools of fish.

The igloos were assembled and labeled on land and then the various parts were taken apart to make for easy transport in the boat and underwater.

GEF/SGP 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 

finished igloo with the retaining rings positioned
and drilled ready for cbl tie attchment underwater

Making bottle reefs for coral planting

Preparation of the moulds

Artificial Reef preparation and construction is an ongoing process at TRACC, some part of the process happens for 6 from the 7 days of the week.

This week, our Malaysian staff and volunteers were building more bottle reefs in the moulds. The moulds are lined with plastic to stop the cement sticking to the wooden sides or becoming dry by losing all the moisture down into the sand floor. Each mould is about 10ft long, made of a wooden frame. The cement is mixed by the very nice new mixer bought with the support of the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility (SGP/GEF). The mixture of sand and cement is a wet mortar and we use a plasticizer to give the mixture more workability. The sloppy mortar mixture is poured into the moulds and then the bottles can be added.

Bottle reefs waiting for the cement to set overnight.

Each bottle is pre-cleaned to remove the labels and any residue of contents. We only use bottles which have contained food or drink so that there is no risk of pollution from the bottle contents.

The bottles are rolled in the wet cement mortar so that they have a slightly roughened surface from the cement and sand. When this layer is hard it helps the attraction and settlement of a wide variety of sedentary reef building organisms such as sponges, ascidians byozoans as well as hard and soft corals.

The bottles are worked into the bed of mortar so that they stand upright and are submerged by 3-5 cm in the wet mortar. Generally the bottles are positioned about 7-12 cm apart. If they are too close then it is hard to make the block so that it doesn't fall apart when it is set. If the bottles are too far apart, then the coral fragments or biscuits could move out of the protective ring of bottles and fall into the sand. All sizes and shapes of bottles can be used; from jamjars to ketchup to beer bottles.

finished bottle reefs after the cement has set.

Plastic water bottles are not normally used because they can come out of the cement base when there is wave action. Fizzy drink bottles can be used but we puncture holes near the base so that the cement mortar goes into the bottles and helps to lock them into the bottle reef block. Most of the bottle reefs for coral planting use only glass bottles which are not in short supply. Glass is not recycled in Sabah because of the cost of shipping to Peninsular Malaysia. Consequently there are plenty of bottles which are donated by caring citizens or businesses.

The raw material for our artificial reefs is cheap and plentyful and with photos and videos of the results from our SGP/GEF project near the Tip of Borneo (Simpang Mengayu) and on Pom Pom island near Semporna, will lead to more community action projects around the region using the techniques we are developing to improve and rebuild the reefs close to each village. 

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  

 

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