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Suitability of Habitats for Growth of Black-Lip and Silver-Lip Pearl Oysters Final, June 2008• and in eastern Guadalcanal (Marau Sound).Sulu et al. (2000) also described the other types of reef habitat found in the Solomon Islands.There are relatively small, submerged barrier reefs along the northeast coast of Choiseul,near Ghizo and near Munda in New Georgia, off Star Harbour in eastern Makira, northeastof the Russell Islands, across the entrance of Kangava Bay on the south coast of Rennell andaround Utupua Island in the easterly Santa Cruz Islands. Barrier reefs in excess of 20 km inlength are found westwards of the Reef Islands in the Santa Cruz Islands and at The GreatReef which is situated slightly further north. Atolls are relatively scarce. The largest,Ontong Java, is 70 km long and 11-36 km wide and has a wide reef flat enclosing a lagoonwith a surface area of about 1400 km 2 . In the Stewart Islands, about 200 km northeast ofMalaita, there is a small triangular atoll, Sikaiana, about 10 km wide surrounded by anarrow coral reef which drops steeply to great depths. There are three raised atolls (Oema,Rennell and Bellona) in Bougainville Strait. There are also several mid-ocean reefs coveredwith coral, including Roncador and Bradley reefs to the south of Ontong Java, theIndispensable Reefs south of Rennell, and several small shoals north of the Santa CruzIslands.In 2004, a comprehensive scientific survey of the marine environment in the SolomonIslands was undertaken by The Nature Conservancy in collaboration with community,government, and non-government partners (Green et al. 2006). Benthic assemblagesoccurring at depths of 8-10 m were surveyed at 66 sheltered and exposed sites distributedacross six regions (Hughes 2006). This study showed that coral cover declined from 47% inthe west to 29% in the east and that the cover of coral was much greater in the Western,Isabel and Choiseul Provinces than in the Guadalcanal, Makira and Malaita and greater inexposed than sheltered locations in all of the regions, except Guadalcanal. The macroalgalcover and non-living cover were both poorest in the Western Province. The greatestmacroalgal and non-living covers were found in the Malaita and Makira regions,respectively. Both the macroalgal and non-living cover were similar at the other locations.4.7 VanuatuVanuatu is an archipelago consisting of over 80 islands stretching across 1,300 kilometres inthe Western Pacific Ocean (Figure 7). The islands are composed either of igneous formationsor from limestone derived from uplifted fringing coral reefs (Preston, 1996 cited by Navitiand Aston 2000). There are relatively few extensive shallow water reefs surrounding theislands in the Vanuatu archipelago. Inner reef areas are limited to narrow fringing reefs andreef platforms surrounding islands and a few lagoons and barrier reefs, totalling an area ofapproximately 408 km 2 (Bell and Amos, 1993 cited by Naviti and Aston 2000). In 1988, acomprehensive survey of the condition and character of coral reefs and associatedecosystems was undertaken by scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science(AIMS) and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority at 35 locations throughoutVanuatu (Done & Navin, 1990). Exposed coral reef slopes and crests were found to bedominated by coralline algae and robust plating and branching corals (Acropora andPocilloporidae), whereas areas 3-5 metres below the level of the reef flat were dominated bymassive and branching corals. Sheltered parts of the outer reef were characterised byvarious species of Acropora and Montipora. Massive Porites were commonin open embayments while sheltered embayments were strongly dominated by softcorals. Subsequent surveys have been conducted on an ad hoc basis, as part of the feasibilityassessment of foreshore development projects and as a result of the establishment of aMarine Protected Area in Hogg Harbour (Naviti and Aston 2000).The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd – Marine and Freshwater Studies Page 19