Sustaining community livelihood and tourism through environmental protection

Reef Check Surveys

Mamanuca Dive Operators Reef Check Network was formed in 2004. Its purpose to monitor subtle environmental changes in Mamanuca waters. 37 dive sites have been surveyed by MES and local Dive Operators. Reef checks are carried out once or twice a year.

Reef Check is a coral reef conservation and volunteer program that has been enthusiastically supported by hundreds of scientists and thousands of divers around the world. Reef Check is active in over 40 countries and territories throughout the tropical world.

Reef Check Objectives

Reef Check’s objectives are to: educate the public about the coral reef crisis; to create a global network of volunteer teams trained in Reef Check scientific methods who regularly monitor and report on reef health; to facilitate collaboration that produces ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions; and to stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide.

The concept behind the formation of a Mamanuca Dive Operators Network is:

To initiate discussion between Dive Operators using the Mamanuca area with the idea of protecting the environment at the forefront of their minds.
To start up a team to monitor the health of the Mamanuca area on an annual basis through using the Reef Check methodology with the set up of permanent sites throughout the region.
To ensure that all Dive operators using the area understand the use of Best Practice activities and ensure that environmental briefings to guests are given on every possible occasion.
To provide operators and communities with an annual report following surveys on the health status of the reefs in their area.
To provide the International organisations that monitor reef health world wide i.e. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and Reef Check Headquarters with accurate information on the status of the coral reefs in the Mamanuca area.

Overall the Network is a voluntary activity but encompasses all dive operators that have an active interest in the aims of protecting the environment in the region on a long-term basis. This Network is the first of its kind in Fiji and is an example for other dive operators throughout the nation to follow. Communities and tourism operators will be able to have a clear idea of the status of their coral reefs in the area.

MES usually hosts separate one day workshops with the island and mainland dive operators as a refresher to Reef Check and the survey methodology, how to conduct a Reef Check survey, and to review the targeted marine organisms on the survey.