Project update - Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project - October 2004
Added to website: 01 October 2004
Project Brief
Aim
The Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project is a three-year project (2002-2005) to survey coral reefs of the Mamanuca Islands, the Yasawa Islands and other areas of Fiji. The programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Fijians, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region.
Location
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partners with the Government of Fiji, local communities, the tourism sector and other groups.
Marine Science Programme
Baseline Surveys
Number and location of Surveys
Number of transects completed and opened
Inner Barrier 1
Reef Check
Raviniake House Reef
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Once again survey trips to Supermarket yielded many a shark sighting with the usual array of white tips, black tips and grey reef sharks. Supermarket, however, was not the only site for sharks though as volunteers discovered on dives to Vatu Yali and Yalo Drivi where white tips were seen, and at Honeymoon where a Leopard shark was spotted.
Vatu Yali and Yalo Drivi also provided us with numerous turtle sightings and a couple of very large barracuda. Humphead wrasse were also observed this month at Supermarket and Pinnacles, where batfish were also spotted.
However, as far a mega fauna sightings go, this month belongs to the ray and our very own House Reef, with many a solitary Eagle ray, Stingray and Blue Spotted lagoon ray observed and also a group of Eagle rays flying in formation.
Environmental Awareness
Capacity Building/Training of Local Counterparts
Teaching at the Namamanuca Primary School in Yanuya village continues in the northern Mamanuca region. The Marine Environment Programme is a collaborative teaching effort between MES (Mamanuca Environment Society) and CCC. The programme has been written to last for the 13 weeks of the school term, with one 3-hour session scheduled every week. The children being taught are all in Class 7 and Class 8, with the age range extending from 11 to 13 years of age. Building on knowledge acquired in previous weeks the children were introduced to the ecological and behavioural characteristics of various marine creatures. Using this as a base, the theory of food chains and food webs was introduced. This enabled the children to see how inter related all the different species are and what a potentially fragile ecosystem a coral reef is. In addition, there have been lessons on litter, its negative effects and the times taken for non-biodegradable objects to degrade in the environment. A litter collection activity was held. The children were amazed at the huge volume of waste they were able to collect in just a short period. The children were introduced to the concept of composting as a means to remove biodegradable waste and provide beneficial material for their crops. A compost heap has been built and is being tended to by the school children.
The setting up of permanent Reef Check sites with the Mamanuca Dive Operators continues. Recently sites were marked out and surveyed by Subsurface Diving Beachcomber, and at Sonaisali. This involved a brief period refreshing memories on the indicator species for Reef Check and the survey methodology, and then diving to set up deep and shallow surveys at each site selected for monitoring. Data from all of these Reef Check surveys is starting to build up, but with 70 separate sites to set up, it will be some time before all the data is finally in and analysis can begin!
We are looking forward to having a scholarship student join us here at Ravinaki for November to complete the full four-week programme of dive training, science training and surveying. In addition we have two scholarship students in the process of applying for scholarships in December.
Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project Second Annual Review, Suva, October 8th.
The 8th of October saw the second annual review presented by the CCC Director of Marine Science, James Comley and attended by CCCs Founder and Managing Director, Peter Raines as well as many representatives from relevant Government Agencies, Non Governmental Organisations, the University of the South Pacific and local community leaders. The presentation included a brief synopsis of CCCs work in the Yasawa Islands and along the Coral Coast before concentrating on an update of the survey progress and findings to date in the Mamanuca Islands. The report, presentation and other resources including GIS maps were available on the day or can be downloaded from CCCs web site under the science section at www.coralcay.org or can be requested from CCCs Director of Public Relations, Ms Tanya Blackburn at tb@coralcay.org.
