Coral Reef Monitoring in a Sea of Islands: Lessons form the Southwest Pacific node of the GCRMN

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Coral Reef Monitoring in a Sea of
IslandsLessons form the Southwest Pacific node
of the GCRMN

• Kenneth T Mackay
• Institute of Marine Resources
• The University of the South Pacific
• Fiji

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South West Pacific GCRMN Node-- Naru, Tuvalu,
Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia Solomon Is.
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Problems

• Large Areas
• Unique Reef Systems
• Remote not easily accessible reefs
• Limited research monitoring capacity,
  concentrated in two countries (NC Fiji)
• No directed funding for monitoring in most
  countries

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Large Diversity of reefs
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Networkattempts at capacity building 1997-98
SPREP

• Australian- AIMS regional training
• Follow up with regional trainers sub-regional
  training
• PROBLEMS
• No monitoring program
• No funding
• Frequent change of staff
• Little monitoring

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GCRMN Project- USP (IOI, C-SPOD) 2001 ----

• Country Coordinator
• Country plan
• Training monitoring methods sharing between
  strong weak countries
• Eg Naru dive traing also needed, had to send a
  monitor/dive trainer with gear to first certify
  divers, then train in monitoring
• Funding for in-country monitoring
• Funding for country reports paid on receipt of
  report
• Workshop to assist in finalizing report
• Result-----

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Gizo, Solomon Is training Aug 2006
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Temporal variations of live coral cover on Nouméa
sites
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N O T S A M P L E D
N O T S A M P L E D
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Fiji example of networking among many groups

• Bleaching 2000

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Networking in Fiji

• Bleaching event of 2000 up to 90 death of coral
  in some areas down to 30m
• This galvanized a scattered network
• USP lead assisted by two private sector
  consultants both of whom were doing their own
  monitoring
• Tapped previous USP project that had deployed
  temperature loggers
• Tourism and aquarium industries very important in
  supplying data from scattered locations
• Enabled documentation of extent of bleaching,
  cause, and recovery
• Subsequent GCRMN network with permanent
  monitoring sites

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Temperature data from Vatu-i-Ra Passage
19992004. 29oC gridline emphasised (Quinn
Barrell in prep.)
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Laje Rotuma
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Rotuma Follow Up

• One more monitoring 2004
• A third to start next week
• Turtle survey is being added
• Socioeconomic study (USP MSc)
• Substantial increased awareness among residents
• Latje Rotuma now recognized as the environment
  committee of Rotuman Council
• LR has helped council receive GEF small grant
• Strong commitment to Island by youth living off
  the island

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Other issues

• Network data sharing-ownership, feedback
• Different methods and difficulty in comparison
• Eg ReefCheck vs. AIMS substrate categories
• Fish groups vs. species
• Length of transects
• Replication
• of sample points
• Scientific vs Community/Tourist Operator