Seven years ago the DMCR produced a set of charts indicating the health of coral reefs around the Andaman Sea. The data obtained from this type of survey is extremely useful for gaining an overall picture of coral reef health. It will act as an early-warning system to guard against Crown-Of-Thorns starfish (COTs) outbreaks. Manta tows have been used for broad scale surveys of COTs and corals by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) as part of the Long-term Monitoring Program that commenced in 1992.
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The actual 'tow' is simple and fun. An observer is pulled through the water by our RIB making estimations on the percentage of live/dead coral cover. See preliminary results from Mosquito Islands. Data recorded by Andrew Hewett, Ruth McNab, and Carl Wantenaar. |
Wednesday 07th of January 2009 GMT+6 |