The extent of bleaching impact and the long-term possible recovery of reefs are directly related to overall health of coral reefs. Reef fish are critical in maintaining the health of reefs through herbivory and predation while overfishing and destructive fishing practices remove vital guilds and habitat which undermines the core functioning of coral reefs.
Reef Fisheries and the Darwin Reef Fish Project
A better understanding of fisheries in the Maldives is critical to develop the relevant and necessary management plans to maintian coral reef functioning. Together with the Marine Conservation Society and the Darwin Initiative, the Marine Research Centre has developed reef fisheries monitoring protocols and a management programme. These protocols include FishWatch, a fish count and underwater visual census; FishCatch, a survey collecting information on number and sizes of landed reef fish; and SharkWatch, diver-based recording of shark sightings.
This project component included the following activities:
- Set up a network of volunteers to report on coral reef conditions.
- Identified key coral reefs to be monitored.
- Defined a practical BleachWatch monitoring protocol.
- Set up a database to collect data.
- Identified key individuals to act as trainers and utilised the Maldives marine science enetwork as a platform.
- Prepared training packages containing material to be used during workshops.
- Organized and conducted training sessions in different atolls.
Read more in the project synopsis available for download below
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Coral Reefs and Climate Change Project Synopsis - Maldives | PDF Document 1.32MB |
