#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002
Nauru
There is a narrow fringe of coral reefs around this island country. There has been limited
research and no monitoring on these reefs during 2000-2002 due to a lack of capacity.
Reefs on the west and to a large extent, the north and south sides of the island are in good
health and show little sign of stress or destruction. However, reefs on the windward east
side and in Anibare Bay have been disturbed by pounding waves from the east and
construction of the Anibare Bay community harbour. The blasting destroyed many reefs
within a 100m radius and the area is littered with debris and silt. Some damage occurred
while installing an inlet pipe for the desalination plant at Meneng Hotel. Higher rainfall in
early 2002 lowered salinity and caused coral bleaching on shallow reef areas.
New Caledonia
The most advanced coral reef monitoring among the Southwest Pacific countries occurs
in New Caledonia. The ‘Coral Reef Observatory’ (ORC) was established in 1997 and
surveyed 8 reef sites in 1997 and 1998. Funding ceased until 2001 when an NGO took over
the monitoring. The crews of the Southern Province patrol boats were trained and now
survey two sites – North Noumea (Nouville, Signal and Mbéré) and South Noumea
GREENFORCE – STUDIES ON FIJI CORAL REEFS
Greenforce, a non-profit UK organisation, provides host country institutions with
biodiversity monitoring in areas with important natural resources. In 1998, the
National Trust of Fiji asked Greenforce to collect baseline data and monitor the coral
reefs around Yadua island and Yaduataba, and provide coastal management reports as
a precursor to the establishment of a marine reserve and an application to UNESCO
for World Heritage listing. Yaduataba is the home of the rare and endemic crested
iguana. Greenforce has contributed monitoring data for 20 permanent sites, including
pre- and post - 2000 bleaching reports, to the SW Pacific Node database. Before the
2000 bleaching event, hard coral cover was 30% at 5m and 10m, but afterwards it
dropped to 14% at 5m and 12% at 10m. Recovery has been very slow at 5m, with only
a 3% increase in coral cover, but at 10m, coral cover doubled to 24%. The proportion
of stressed corals decreased at all depths from May to December 2000, but they now
appear to be stressed again, although the massive and encrusting corals show less
stress. The bleaching in 2000 had little impact on fish communities in Yadua, although
an increase in the abundance of herbivorous fish was observed e.g. surgeonfish
increased significantly from 18.4 (per 1000m 2 area) at 5m in 1999 to 30.7 in 2000 and
15.5 to 20.7 at 10m. Parrotfish increased from 21.7 to 39.1 at 5m and 26.2 to 38.09 at
10m. These increases may be due to increases in algal cover. Humphead wrasse and
bumphead parrotfishes (major target species) are commonly sighted in Yadua. The
most common length of the wrasse being 80cm (39 observations), with few over
120cm or under 30cm. The bumphead parrotfish occur in schools of up to 20 in some
parts of the Island. Manta rays are also common with at least 9 individuals being regular
visitors, and white tip reef sharks are seen in abundance on almost every dive. These
trends may indicate that the management appears to be helping the fish populations
recover. From: Andrew Finlay finlayrao@yahoo.co.uk and Oliver Taylor
taylor_ojs@yahoo.com
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