Coral Bleaching at Sisters' Island Due to Climate Impact

Extensive coral bleaching reported in Singapore's Sisters' Island Marine Park. Dive trails closed temporarily from June 2016 to prevent further undesirable impacts on Singapore coral reefs. Among the corals likely to be affected are those that were rescued from island conversion to make way for Singapore's waste disposal.

By Mallika Naguran

Singapore, 22 August 2016. Leisure scuba divers in Singapore have to head elsewhere to bask in colourful corals as Singapore coral reefs is experiencing massive coral bleaching. A news report by Today stated that coral bleaching is the reason for the closure of the Sisters' Island dive trails. Dive trails are likely to resume for public access in October 2016.

Coral bleaching has intensified in many parts of the world, including Singapore.

Coral bleaching has intensified in many parts of the world, including Singapore.Singapore, like the rest of the world, has become warmer as a result of the El Nino phenomenon that made its presence felt from 2015. NParks provided a conservative estimate of the coral bleaching threshold - a range between 30.95C and 31.35C - where it would be a struggle for corals to survive.  Temperatures of sea surfaces in Southern Singapore have increased beyond the bleaching threshold sometime in May, it reported.

NParks continues to monitor coral health throughout this period. It believes that shutting the dive trails temporarily will minimise human impacts on the stressed corals. 

NParks has also initiated a survey in June 2016 to study the corals closely to investigate if human intervention is needed to save certain coral species. This can be done by moving rare local species, for instance, into deeper waters or more controlled environments.

Coral colonies in the Sisters' Island Marine Park include those that have been relocated from Pulau Semakau in January 2015.  The National Environment Agency reported then that over 700 coral colonies were moved, equivalent to about 60 square metres of live coral cover, from Semakau Landfill’s lagoon to the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park. The relocation of corals had to be done as the authorities made way for a new landfill cell to fulfil Singapore's waste disposal needs up to 2035 or beyond.

In 1998 and 2010, Singapore experienced mass coral bleaching as well attributed to the El Nino effect. Experts have predicted that coral bleaching will intensify over the years and called for greater governmental action on conservation.

Semporna Shark Sanctuary Soon

Fiona Childs reports on the proposed Semporna Shark Sanctuary that is designed to increase eco-tourism opportunities while protecting sharks and rays. A Gaia Discovery exclusive.

Sharks are an integral part of the marine eco-system but the population of many species are rapidly declining.

Semporna, 20 April 2013. The Semporna region on the east coast of Malaysian Borneo comprises 83 islands and reefs.  It is part of the Coral Triangle, a wildlife enriched area spanning the seas bound by Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, West Papua and to the far east Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands. Within the high level of marine biodiversity that can be found here, 63 species of sharks exist including the rare and elusive Borneo shark, the largest fish in the sea – the whale shark, thresher shark and the scalloped hammerhead shark.  It is an area known for world class diving, yet these animals are under serious threat from overfishing.

A cluster of organisations has come together in Sabah to thwart these threats to marine life by collective action. This primarily involves crafting the formation of a demarcated area primarily to protect sharks. The proposed Semporna Shark Sanctuary would protect and preserve these animals and the diversity of the coral reef systems in the designated 8,000 square kilometres and provide sustainable income to alleviate poverty in the region.   

The Making of the Semporna Shark Sanctuary

The proposal for a shark sanctuary in Semporna, Sabah awaits the approval from the authorities. In the meantime, sharks continue to be overfished in many areas.

Work began on the Semporna Shark Sanctuary proposal in 2009 and considerable progress has been made to date. Borneo Conservancy, a local social enterprise, submitted a formal proposal on the sanctuary to the authorities. This received considerable support from the local government and the Department of Fisheries, according to Rohan Perkins, the Environmental Officer with Scuba Junkie Dive Centre.

“Local and international non-governmental organisations and dive operators have backed the project and over 50,000 people have since signed the petition,” he told Gaia Discovery.   A Shark Alliance has been formed consisting of Malaysia Nature Society – Sabah Branch (MNS-S), Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Shark Education Awareness and Survival (SEAS), Scubazoo, (an underwater filming and photography company), Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRACC) and WWF Malaysia.   “Together the supporters are working to get the proposal officially accepted and made federal law,” Rohan said.

According to Rohan, the proposal outlines specific fishing practices that are to be permitted such as subsistence fishing, while outlawing commercial fishing within the range. “These would refer to large fishing vessels using methods such as purse seines and long lines to snag indiscriminately hundreds of fish and marine life such as turtles,” he said. Legislation is thus required to enforce protection against these rampant destructive methods that also include dynamite bombing and cyanide fishing. Shark fishing and finning will also be banned. With the acceptance of the proposal, law will back any enforcement that will be needed to act against such unlawful fishing.

Bajau children and others on Mabul island are educated regularly on looking after land and marine environment.

By reaching out, Scuba Junkie’s team of conservationists have garnered the support of local communities to protect the area, in particular sharks. Scuba Junkie, a dive centre and resort on Mabul Island, holds regular presentations on shark conservation at their premises, official and community venues such as schools. Fund raising for the set up of the Semporna Shark Sanctuary has been made possible by contributions from Project Aware, Hearts for Sharks, individual donations as well as on-going T-shirt sales by Scuba Junkie. “A hundred percent of the proceeds go to the sanctuary,” exclaimed Rohan. 

Benefits of the Semporna Shark Sanctuary

Marine tourism, eco tourism, snorkel and dive operations provide livelihood through employment to local communities within its boundary.  Fishing communities, which would otherwise suffer with the decline of these species, will be compensated through employment opportunities created in the maintenance, up keep and protection of the sanctuary.  Many tourists state that sharks are the major reason they visit the area.  According to Dr James Alin from University Malaysia Sabah’sSchool of Business of Economics, Sabahdiving brings in around RM195 million per year (US$65 million) to the economy whereas banning shark fishing would mean a comparatively small loss of RM5 million (US$1.67 million) to the industry.

Sharks when alive provide more income for villagers and communities through eco tourism and marine tourism.

Globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a third of all shark species are nearly extinct and some species of sharks such as the hammerhead have declined by up to 90% in the last 50 years, primarily as a result of the shark fin trade.  Many of the species targeted are apex predators, they maintain prey diversity and without them marine ecosystems have been shown to collapse. 

In local fish markets, Manta Trust, a research based conservation organisation, found many juvenile and near term pregnant sharks showing that the region is potentially an important breeding and pupping area.  As well as protecting reef habitats and open water where pelagic sharks roam, it would also cover mangroves – vital nursery areas.  More research is needed; camera and tagging data would help to record numbers and determine whether sharks in the area are semi resident or migratory.

More Work Ahead for Sanctuary Champions

Rohan Perkins of Scuba Junkie gives talks to spread the message that sharks are safe and need our protection.

When I visited Scuba Junkie for a review in April this year, I also attended a presentation delivered by Rohan on sharks and shark conservation to the local tourism authorities as well as guest divers.  Scuba Junkie, in partnership with other dive centers and resorts on Mabul, engages with the islanders in education and awareness activities through events such as Mabul Marine Week, an event that began six years ago with the participation of dive operators on the island and rotating chairmanship. For the last three years, Scuba Junkie has been chairing the initiative, which has garnered the support of local authorities as well.

Mabul island communities are amix of settlers from indigenous Sabah tribes with influences from neighbouring Philippines migrants and the Bajau – or stateless people - fringing a section of the beach, living in abject poverty. They are all invited to the fun filled conservation activities as well, opening up new worlds of knowledge of the treasures of the underwater world. Many have since turned away from the use of homemade bombs after learning about their destructiveness to marine life ecosystems. Still there’s more education to be done, as I heard bombs going off in the distance when diving off the protected Sipadan Island in April this year.

Some businesses and restaurants in Semporna, Kota Kinabalu (the capital city of Sabah) and Kuala Lumpur (the administrative centre of Malaysia) now back the proposed shark sanctuary.  According to Rohan, results are apparent. “On Mabul island there used to be ‘stations’ where a catch of 50-60 sharks could be seen with their fins being removed as often as three or four times a week.  This is no longer the case,” he said.

Despite effects on numbers due to over fishing, a number of shark species are still encountered on a daily basis in Sabah and Semporna. This makes it the ideal location for a protected area as it is still possible to prevent their decline instead of having to 'reintroduce and rehabilitate'.   The Semporna Shark Sanctuary, when implemented, would be South East Asia’s first, with the potential to set a model for more through demonstrating successful conservation and economic development.

The Semporna Shark Sanctuary Petition

Notes and References:

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

http://www.iucn.org

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/summary_of_report.pdf

Semporna Shark Alliance:

Malaysia Nature Society – Sabah Branch (MNS-S)

http://www.mns.my

Visit their Facebook

Marine Conservation Society (MCS)

Unit 3, Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5NB, UK

www.mcsuk.org/

Visit their Facebook

Shark Education Awareness and Survival (SEAS), Scuba Junkie

G23, Wisma Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88000, Sabah, Malaysia

https://www.facebook.com/scubajunkiesipadan/

Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRACC)

4 Turtle Beach, Pom Pom Island, Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia

http://tracc-borneo.org

https://www.facebook.com/tracc.borneo

WWF Malaysia

6th Floor , CPS Tower ,Centrepoint Complex , No 1, Jalan Centrepoint , 88000 , Kota Kinabalu , Sabah , Malaysia

www.wwf.org.my/

https://www.facebook.com/wwfmy

Comparison of economic value of sharks through ecotourism and fishing:

https://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/the-value-of-sharks/sharks-and-ecotourism/

Reasons for Semporna Shark Sanctuary

http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/60669

Symposium on Proposed Tun Mustapha Park

Kota Kinabalu, 20 March 2013.  A few parks in Sabah are already being managed with local communities living within them and maintaining their lifestyles.

The establishment of Tun Mustapha Park will represent a major shift towards conservation and sustainable resource use. The proposed Tun Mustapha Park, located at Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area (PCA), in the northern region of Sabah was proposed as a multiple-use park by the Sabah state government in 2003.

After 10 years of conservation efforts, a symposium will be held today (March 20) to highlight how this marine protected area will be part of the evolution of resource management around the world.

The proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) encompasses around 50 islands including Banggi, the largest island in Malaysia, and boasts a high diversity of ethnic groups from the coastal communities of Bajau, Ubian, Suluk, Kagayan, Balabak and Bajau Laut to the inland communities of Rungus, Bonggi and Dusun among others. Including the communities on the coastal mainland, there are approximately 80,000 people living in and around the proposed park.

The majority of these people rely in part on the park’s marine resources. There is a need for the park to be gazetted because of the area’s high biodiversity, concentration of coral reefs, mangroves and the richness of fisheries in the region. The proposed park’s objectives are to protect habitats and support livelihoods for artisanal and commercial fishers. Once fully gazetted, it will be the second largest marine protected area in South-East Asia.

The concept for the park is to be a multiple use, managed area which includes areas for strict protection, tourism, artisanal fishing and commercial fishing among others. A multi-stakeholder group made up of government agencies led by Sabah Parks, Sabah Fisheries Department, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the Lands and Surveys Department, NGOs including WWF-Malaysia and the local communities have been working to realise the gazetting of TMP.

Under the National Coral Triangle Initiative led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), TMP is recognised as an important area for the implementation of its objectives for the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM), adopting protected areas as one of the EAFM implementation tools.

This means that the health of the ecosystem as a key indicator is being integrated into the management of the marine protected area.

This approach includes the development of maps of ecosystem features and values, identifying and developing stakeholder profiles, and conducting consultations with stakeholders to build a shared vision around the proposed management approach.

Source: Borneo Post

Palau's President Proposes New Marine Sanctuary

Palau's President has proposed banning all commercial fishing in the Pacific nation's waters to create one of the world's largest marine reserves, covering an area roughly the size of France.

President Tommy RemengesauPalau, 16 March 2013. President Tommy Remengesau, who was elected last November, says a commercial fishing ban could help Palau earn more money from tourism than it currently gets from tuna fleets.

He says his vision is for an area "so well protected" that Palau would become the world's largest marine sanctuary.

"No longer will Palau be merely a shark sanctuary, it will be a sea sanctuary that protects all marine wildlife within Palau's exclusive economic zone (EEZ)," President Remengesau said. 

Palau won international acclaim when it created the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009.

Palau's EEZ covers almost 630,000 square kilometres of the northern Pacific, including world-renowned scuba diving and snorkelling sites.

The nation of 300 islands, with a population of about 21,000, has generated negligible revenue from foreign fishing vessels plying its waters.

However, Palau has only one ageing patrol boat and President Remengesau has conceded enforcing any commercial fishing ban will be difficult.

Short-changed

Natural Resources Minister Umiich Sengebau says Palau earns about $5 million a year from the fishing industry, with about $4 million coming from tuna fishing, which is dominated by vessels from Japan and Taiwan.

"The president feels that Palau is short-changed," he said.

He said Palau licensed a total of 129 foreign fishing vessels in 2010 but Pacific island nations received only a fraction of the income generated by tuna captured in their waters.

President Remengesau said the Asian Development Bank estimated the global tuna industry was worth $4 billion a year and only nine per cent went to Pacific nations, where most of the fish are caught.

"Revenue received from commercial fishing licences and taxes from commercial fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to the profits made by large fishing companies," he said.

"An EEZ-wide no commercial fishing zone would mean that only sustenance fishing by Palauan residents and tourism-related sport catch-and-release fishing would be permitted."

He said the proposal was in its early stages and the government would look at alternative revenue sources before implementing it, particularly tourism.

"Some of that revenue will be recovered simply through the increase in tourism that results from the incredible marine biodiversity that will be protected by our sea sanctuary," he said.

Source ABC/AFP

Review: Reef Creature Identification, Tropical Pacific by Ned Deloach and Paul Humann. A 500-page Guide on Mobile Marine Invertebrates.

Mallika Naguran meets Ned Deloach, the co-author of Reef Creature Identification, Tropical Pacific, and his wife Anna at the launch of the guidebook in Singapore. And gets hooked by amazing discussions on marine diversity, natural selection and critter hunting.

Ned Deloach loves cryptic critters.

Singapore 30 October 2010. Ned and Anna Deloach could barely contain their excitement when describing to Mallika Naguran (in a Gaia Discovery exclusive interview) their experiences in hunting, photographing and documenting invertebrates - marine animals without backbones - for the all-new Reef Creature Identification, Tropical Pacific.

The range of mobile marine invertebrates they describe can be found in the warm tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean, ranging from Thailand to Tahiti.

Co-authored by Ned Deloach and Paul Humann, the book was first released in Singapore, Asia late October followed by a release in the US in November. The two well-known marine life naturalists, writers and photographers have authored eight other field guides and other productions over 20 years.

This 500-page reference brings to the fore some 1,600 mobile marine invertebrates with 2,000 photographs contributed by various divers (including Asians William Tan, Ivan Choong, Indra Swari, Stephen Wong, Takako Uno and Ria Tan) in a visually pleasing layout. The text incorporates taxonomic research by 40 scientific specialists, yet is descriptive enough to be easily understood by jargon-averse readers. 

“The book breaks away from the scientific context and brings information to the lay people,” said Ned. “I'm sure they will be startled to see the immense population and diversity of such invertebrates.”

Simpson's Snapping Shrimp. Pic by Ned Deloach.

Ned, based in Jacksonville, Florida, was an educator and has worked extensively as a journalist and photographer for various publications. He has been diving for “just more than 40 years” since he left college in his 20s.

Anna has been a trusty partner in the making of this book by scouting the subjects. She shoots videos and films for documentaries and co-produced Sensational Seas, an anthology of rare underwater images in 2004.

Anna says the reef creature guide is not just for dive junkies, but also for everyone. “What’s groundbreaking about this book is not just the sheer numbers but the number of animals that scientists have not seen. The critters appeal even to non-divers who will be amazed to see that such creatures actually exist.” 

The beauty and diversity of marine creatures including many undescribed species unfold before your eyes as you turn the chapters of this guide that even display animals up to three quarters of the page even.

“Even though this is a guide, we wanted to honour the animals by enlarging their images,” explained Anna.

Urchin carrying crab. Dorippe-fascone. Pic by Ned Deloach.

The content begins with the simplest multicellular form and progresses on to more complex biological components. Four phyla are covered: crustaceans, molluscs, worms and echinoderms. 

Upfront, the book also describes and illustrates stony, soft and black corals, gorgonians, anemones, corallimorphs, sponges, hydroids, jellyfishes, ctenophores and tunicates but does not provide detailed species description of each. Rather it focuses on free-swimming and crawling marine animals without backbones. Yes, nearly 2000 photographs just on those.

Wilson's Egg Cowrie, Prionovula-wilsoniana. Pic by Ned Deloach.

You can learn how to tell the devious Wunderpus apart from the Mimic Octopus, and at the back of the book explore the world of symbiosis relationships, the wonders of invertebrate reproduction and other wondrous behavioural traits.

It took the team five years to put together this massive collection, documenting them, getting scientists to describe them and for peer review. “The new book represents our most pioneering work,” DeLoach explained. “Although quite detailed, what we have compiled only scratches the surface of the undreamed-of animals still out there waiting to be discovered.”

The Wild, Wild New Thanks to Natural Selection

I am not a big fan of nudibranchs. I kind of like the big stuff. The bigger, the better.

Flipping through the pages of this guide, however, I come across a slug barely longer than my pinky finger illuminated with Xray-like effects and ghostly branch tips. The Bolland’s Tritonia, states the picture caption, is a deep-water species that can be found in the West Pacific.

And across the page is a translucent white slug with red-orange-brown glow - the wildest creature I’ve ever seen!  It is an undescribed species of Dendronotid Nudibranchs – Tritoniidae. Neither species mentioned fit into your everyday image of a nudibranch, and that’s because nature has woven its magic over time to change the physical characteristics of the creature according to environmental and biological factors.  Now that caught my attention.

“Lacking the constraints of vertebrae, natural selection for these special groups of animals has gone wild,” said Ned. “We marvel at evolution through natural selection. It alters the animals so that they can survive and feed and these other habitats without so many hiding holes.”

Xenia-like nudibranch carrying a commensal shrimp. Pic by Ned Deloach

Ned described how in Flores in April 2009, at just 2m deep at Mucky Mask, he chanced upon a shrimp that mimicked a hard seashell until its blue eyes gave it away. He also spotted an undescribed Aeolid nudibranch that had what seemed like pulsating Xenia soft corals on its body (see photo). 

 “Wallace, Darwin and Hooker and the people of their time went out and brought back all those great specimens - they got Europe alive with excitement.  I wouldn’t compare myself to those greats but in this age of digital photography, by recording these animals underwater, I think our message to protect these animals will be heard” said Ned.

Ned, also a fan of decorator crabs, is keen they should get more documentation about their natural selection. “This spider crab group with velvet-like hooks all over their body clip stationary animals off the reef and hook them on their backs. This disguises their presence – not just from predators but from the inquisitive eyes of divers too. This makes the game of cryptic animal hunting even more exciting,” he chuckled. 

“You have virtually got to look at everything. You do not know if they are animal- that’s their intent. Natural selection allows them to live and proliferate in these varied environments.”

At the interview, photographer Ivan Choong shared how he chanced upon the rare Teddy Bear crab in Manado house reef. He remembered how in the heat of the moment, he screamed through his regulator.

"Look at this excitement!” laughed Ned. “We love it when people have a passion for natural history.” It turned out that Ned had never seen that crab species (Poludectus cupulifer) before and I saw his eyes sparkle. Even though you'd think he would have had enough of turning over “10 cadgillion rocks” in search of cryptic animals - well apparently not!

Teddy Bear crab, Polydectus cupulifer. Pic by Ivan Choong.

“There are many things I have yet to see. I don’t care how many rocks we have to turn over. There’s always a creepy crawly to be discovered,” said Ned, who sticks his nose into rubble, coral fragments, sea grass meadow, and of course muck on a regular basis.

Photographers’ Role in Protecting the Oceans

Sadly, Ned and Anna have also witnessed degradation of habitats due to destructive fishing practices. This results in biomass loss in some parts, evident in especially far eastern Indonesia.

“We (humans) keep pushing and pushing the environment and the oceans; maybe this book will be one small step in the endeavour to protect it,” said Ned. “I hope that this might give people some ideas on what there is underwater that they could protect.”

He explained how everybody can support this initiative by capturing and recording amazing new finds when scuba diving. “The role of photographers is very important in documenting natural history… they can send the photos to the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) that I started with Paul Humann in 1990,” said Ned.

REEF promotes understanding of marine populations through a volunteer fish monitoring program and surveys. “We have thousands of photos posted by recreational divers since and data from 140,000 marine surveys on the site,” explained Ned. Anyone can use the data. Divers and non-divers alike can become members of this marine conservation program, so do sign up.

Writer (middle) is now a macro convert, thanks to Ned and Anna Deloach.

This book's objective is pretty clear. Reef Creature Identification, Tropical Pacific is designed to show the beauty of ocean creatures, many of which have never been seen before, with the hope that they will be treasured. Many more have yet to be discovered even in the shallows.

“We are the first generation to see these underwater,” said Ned. “We hope that the book will be a worthy ambassador of the natural history of the marine critters that we so love.”

I was delighted to receive a press copy of the book, in which Ned signed “Dear Mallika, I hope you find every critter in this book!”

You betcha.

Photography courtesy of Ned Deloach and Ivan Choong.

Reef Creature Identification– Tropical Pacific is available in Asia through DiveBooks.Net (www.divebooks.net) for SGD75 and elsewhere at New World Publications(www.fishid.com.)

With thanks to Ivan Choong for facilitating the interview.