International Coral Research
During late 2023 and June 2024 I traveled to two important regions of the worlds Coral Triangle; Indonesia and Philippines. I explored, learned about and am reporting on the status of our oceans hard and soft corals.
My first evening in the Philippines I spent more than two hours with Rafael Manrique, Director of the Institute for Marine Research in Dauin, south of Dumaguete. We discussed his organizations important work on coral restoration. This is a complicated topic and restoration is extremely difficult to accomplish. Rafael provided an excellent comprehensive PDF they have published outlining perhaps the best methods with very promising results to date.
Download FRAGS-User-Manual-2024 below.
Week two: Bohol Island, specifically the Anda region is home to nearly 600 species of coral. Some reports calculate almost 1/3 are endangered or vulnerable. Rising ocean temps, increasing toxins and pollutants, growing coastal development, human activity like scuba diving, overfishing and much more is stressing corals beyond they’re capacity to endure and survive. At one spot, directly in front of a popular resort, I witnessed mostly dead and destroyed coral that will never return.
Below are a series of images I shot of healthy, broken, and dead corals. Also I included a huge problem below the surface of Bohol’s waters, even in marine protective areas; fish traps. These traps are massive, dropped into deep water with extremely long and heavy rubber lines for retrieval. Many were around 90 to 100 feet, while others extended so far the my eyes could not see the end of the line. They are dropped without care or concern about what they are crushing, like huge beds of healthy coral. It’s unclear how long they remain on the bottom, and what damage they inflict upon retrieval. Many were abandoned also. The long thick straps that hold them in place are also crushing and destroying the coral and who know what else.
Week Three: Tubbataha Reef and Apo Reef. These are the largest, most popular in the Philippines. I'll be uploading more info, images and video soon.
A recent article entitled ‘Rebuilding underwater cities: Impact assessment of coral rehabilitation in Mabini, Batangas’ provides excellent information on the state of coral in the Philippines.
During my four weeks I completed many scientific experiments including:
My first evening in the Philippines I spent more than two hours with Rafael Manrique, Director of the Institute for Marine Research in Dauin, south of Dumaguete. We discussed his organizations important work on coral restoration. This is a complicated topic and restoration is extremely difficult to accomplish. Rafael provided an excellent comprehensive PDF they have published outlining perhaps the best methods with very promising results to date.
Download FRAGS-User-Manual-2024 below.
Week two: Bohol Island, specifically the Anda region is home to nearly 600 species of coral. Some reports calculate almost 1/3 are endangered or vulnerable. Rising ocean temps, increasing toxins and pollutants, growing coastal development, human activity like scuba diving, overfishing and much more is stressing corals beyond they’re capacity to endure and survive. At one spot, directly in front of a popular resort, I witnessed mostly dead and destroyed coral that will never return.
Below are a series of images I shot of healthy, broken, and dead corals. Also I included a huge problem below the surface of Bohol’s waters, even in marine protective areas; fish traps. These traps are massive, dropped into deep water with extremely long and heavy rubber lines for retrieval. Many were around 90 to 100 feet, while others extended so far the my eyes could not see the end of the line. They are dropped without care or concern about what they are crushing, like huge beds of healthy coral. It’s unclear how long they remain on the bottom, and what damage they inflict upon retrieval. Many were abandoned also. The long thick straps that hold them in place are also crushing and destroying the coral and who know what else.
Week Three: Tubbataha Reef and Apo Reef. These are the largest, most popular in the Philippines. I'll be uploading more info, images and video soon.
A recent article entitled ‘Rebuilding underwater cities: Impact assessment of coral rehabilitation in Mabini, Batangas’ provides excellent information on the state of coral in the Philippines.
During my four weeks I completed many scientific experiments including:
- Identify, record and report on various species of hard and soft corals
- Measure salinity levels at various depths
- Record water temperatures at various depths
- Record winds, tides, currents
Videos:
Links to Documentation:
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