Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

Diving season is back, and our Reef Check survey programme has begun. Recently our team in Peninsular Malaysia conducted its first Reef Check survey of the year at Pulau Sembilan while our team in Sabah conducted its first Reef Check survey at Semporna. The data that is collected is vital to track and monitor the health of coral reefs in Malaysia.

We are happy to announce that we have just released our 2021 Annual Survey Report. There's good news and bad news. Despite several setbacks faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a total of 206 sites were surveyed. Based on the overall survey results, in average, the reefs in Malaysia are considered in “Fair” condition with a level of living coral at 44.26%.

Key Findings of 2021 Reef Check Surveys:

• There is a slight increase of live coral cover from 41.32% in 2020 to 44.26% in 2021.
• Abundance of both fish and invertebrate indicators remains generally low suggesting either historical or on-going fishing pressure.
• Numerous indicators of disturbances, such as Nutrient Indicator Algae, Recently Killed Coral, Crown of Thorns starfishes, highlight the ongoing concerns about the trajectory of reef health.
• Both local impacts such as sewage pollution and global impacts such as ocean warming are visible in survey data.

The report is available at https://bit.ly/RCMannualsurveyreport2021 Do share around.

Links:

• https://bit.ly/RCMannualsurveyreport2021