In February 2016, RARCC staff and Papua Diving staff completed coral reef monitoring training in collaboration with Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, and UNIPA, completing Benthic Data Collection, Bleaching Surveys, and Fish Identification Surveys.
It is speculated that Raja Ampat is a sort of “Noah’s Ark” for corals and marine animals – with strong currents and an overwhelming number of different coral and fish species, it is imperative that these reefs are carefully protected and kept healthy, to be able to continue to replenish coral populations all over the world.
The data was collected to be entered into the broader Bird’s Head Seascape database to give scientists a better idea of how the reefs are doing in this area, how they are affected by the growing tourism industry, and if the coral will be affected by the massive bleaching event that is predicted to happen in 2016.
Learn more about this on the following pages:
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/25/local-eyes-on-the-reef-in-the-coral-triangle/
