Project update - Malaysia Reef Conservation Project - April 2004
Added to website: 01 April 2004
Project Brief
Aim
The Malaysia Coral Reef Conservation Project is a collaborative project to survey the coral reefs of the Redang Island Marine Park, and to implement CCC’s local Scholarship Training Programme. The programme provides training and education opportunities for local Malaysians, 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
Redang Island, approximately 15km southeast of the Perhentian Archipelago, Terengganu, east coast of Peninsula Malaysia.
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Marine Parks Department of the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment.
Marine Science Programme
Baseline Surveys
Number and location of Surveys
Mid-March the volunteers and four scholarship students arrived on site. After scuba training was completed, all were put through the science development training, which involves two weeks of intensive science training in coral reef ecology, species identification and survey techniques.
By mid-April, all the volunteers had completed their training and the survey work began. Throughout April, 49 survey dives were completed around Redang Island.
Number of transects completed
15 transects were completed on the west and north coasts of Redang.
Reef Check
n/a
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Green turtles are sighted virtually every dive within the marine park. They are particularly abundant on our house reef, which provides a lot of pleasure to our volunteers. Turtles often come on to the beach at night to lay their eggs. Schools of Bumphead Parrotfish up to 25 strong are seen grazing around the marine park. Bluespotted ribbontail rays, black-tip reef sharks and moray eels are all common sightings, making diving in these areas very exciting!!
Environmental Awareness
Capacity Building/Training of Local Counterparts
This month we welcomed four scholarship students, two from Universiti Malaya and two from Universiti Kebansan Malaya. They all completed the scuba and science training programmes along side our other volunteers and developed good surveying skills.
23-26th April: Project Scientist Joanne Wilson attended a three day conference hosted by CoRal Malaysia, a Malaysian NGO. The event included taking part in the world’s longest underwater painting and raising public awareness about the conservation of coral reefs. The relationship between Coral Cay Conservation and CoRal Malaysia was strengthened and we hope to welcome two members of CoRal Malaysia on to our project in the near future.
