Reef Watcher

Issue 1, No. 3, 1997

Reef Watch Monitoring Kit Trials

The big news since the last newsletter is that the Reef Watch monitoring kit has been developed to the stage where it has been trialled by divers. The point of the trials was to assess the practicality of the kit design and materials as well as the monitoring methodology.

Good suggestions were received from the last community meeting and were incorporated into the kit design which was then reassembled and prepared for trial. Some rather kind Spring weather enabled some of the hardy crew from Adelaide Skindiving Centre, the HDT dive club and others to brave the cool conditions, trial the kit and provide feedback. The following is Alex Suslin's account of their adventures.

"It takes a bit of effort during Adelaide's colder months to get up early enough to join the Holdens Diving Team (HDT) on their Thursday 8am dives, but the 11th of September was different. This was the day we'd be trialling the Reef Watch monitoring kit and as the Scuba Diver's Federation of SA representative, I could not afford to sleep in.

Reef Watch is a long term project that will monitor the health of the marine and coastal environment through ongoing fish and reef habitat surveys. The data will be collected by scuba divers, collated and made available to the public, government and research groups via these newsletters and the internet. Six initial reef locations close to the Adelaide metropolitan area have been selected - Aldinga, Port Noarlunga, Hallett Cove, Broken Bottom, the Glenelg barge and dredge and Semaphore reef.

Reef Watch facilitator Jon Emmett, who had developed the kit with Coordinator Margi Prideaux, had briefed us the day before at the Adelaide Skin Diving Centre, showing us two prototype kits and explaining their use. The kits consist of a plastic clip board with a double sided fish and benthic reef organism identification chart, a double sided survey form and pencil, a weighted rope to be laid out in a metre square and a reel with 50m of string with a surf anchor. These items are housed in a draw-string catch bag. The kit and monitoring methods have been designed to allow buddy pairs to work together and do not require divers to have a marine science background.

The day looked good, with a calm sea, as we headed toward the Glenelg dredge on board the Phantom, skippered by Nick Angley, but looks are deceptive. A noticeable absentee from our ranks was HDT coordinator Tony Leggatt. As we arrived on the site and hit the water, which registered a mere 11 degrees with barely 3 metres visibility, we thought how guilty he must feel on his four wheel driving holiday in Queensland!

With two kits between seven divers, I teamed up with NASDS Assistant Instructor Linda Hunt and Kathy D'Arcy. The first exercise was to anchor the string and swim in a 50 metre line, recording all the fish in a metre diameter corridor. Swimming along the bottom at 21 metres parallel to the dredge, which loomed as an indistinct shadow, even though we could almost reach out and touch it, we were surprised by the virtual absence of fish in an area usually abundant in old wives, strongfish, bullseyes, leatherjackets, cuttlefish, whiting and silver drummer. They must have known we were coming!

The important thing was, how the kit performed. Much to our surprise, the surf anchor held, despite the current, and the string proved easy to reel out and back in. Ye of little faith, eh, Jon? The rope was easy to lay out into a square. Like many other divers, I have no difficulty identifying the common fish, but the benthic weeds and beasties are another story. Much bottom time was spent in relaying sophisticated scientific hand signals like "whatd'yareckonthatis?" and "searchme'aven'tgottaclue!".

The following day, Kathy, Coastal Waters Dive Club's Judith McCarney and I trialled the kit again. Visibility was little better, but this time, we had the "spotter" swimming just ahead of the diver unwinding the string, so the latter would not scare them away before they could be recorded.

Not having checked how I packed the kit up under the water the day before, I had the unenviable task of de-knotting the weighted rope before we could lay it out. Lesson learned!

After we surfaced, the non-Reef Watch divers delighted in telling us about the fish we didn't see (thanks Sherry!) and Judith remarked on a school of fish following us. Maybe they were doing a Diver Watch survey

The trials were a useful exercise to iron out any problems with the kits before they go into mass production. There were only two. The first, securing the string, was easily solved by cutting a notch into the reel. The second was that the laminated identification cards were not waterproof. Jon has a couple of alternatives in mind. He is also liaising with the Aquatic Sciences Branch of the SA Research and Development Institute on a marine species identification program for Reef Watch divers.

Jon and Margi expect to have the program up and running by summer and are currently giving presentations to dive clubs about Reef Watch. They may be contacted at the Conservation Council of South Australia, 120 Wakefield St Adelaide 5000, telephone (08) 8223 5155."

Alex Suslin.

Trialing the kit has been an important phase of the development of the project. We were especially keen to see how the various materials used for the kit stood up to salt water and whether the surveying method was practical and easy to complete. It has been recognised all along that unless the kit is deemed acceptable by the majority of divers, the project will not achieve its full potential.

Feedback from the trials confirmed our suspicions concerning some of the kit materials. In particular, the use of laminated identification charts is clearly not an option. Some leaked after only one dive and others within three or four dives. Fortunately it seems there is an alternative - to print the identification criteria on plastic adhesive paper which can then be adhered to the acrylic dive slate. This option is a lot more costly but it seems it is the only way to go.

Feedback also pointed to the need for thorough training for divers prior to their first surveying dive. A training manual is being finalised for inclusion in the kit and it contains general information about the project as well as step-by-step guidance through the surveying techniques.

Some divers indicated that specific training in the identification of reef flora and fauna will provide important background information for divers, especially while they are learning and becoming familiar with the various surveying methods. We are now working out a training program which will allow divers to practice the methods and develop their skills at identifying the reef fauna and flora before they take their kit out into the ocean.

Many thanks to those divers who helped trial the kit for us. Your feedback was very important and valuable. Over the month of October, we will make all the necessary changes to the kit as suggested by the trials and start placing orders for kit materials.

Reef monitoring kit - Training Sessions

Many of you have called over the last few months asking how you can be involved in Reef Watch and we thank you for your patience while the kit and monitoring program have been designed. As explained the kit has now been trialled and tested and we are keen to start organising training sessions for both dive clubs and non-club based divers.

Over the coming months, and beginning in November, we are hoping to show the kit and the monitoring methods to as many divers as possible. Most dive clubs seem to have monthly meetings and we will be happy to spend evenings or perhaps a day on a weekend working through the Reef Watch program with each club.

For divers who are not members of clubs we will be holding monthly training evenings here at the Conservation Council (or more often if required). These will be followed by practical dives the following weekend. The dates for the next two evenings are:

Dates:
Wednesday November 12, and
Wednesday December 10
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Place: Conservation Council SA
120 Wakefield St, Adelaide
Phone: 8223 5155

Please note that space will be limited to 20 people per training session. Please call to reserve your space! If you have a regular dive buddy, persuade them to come too!

Dates for further training evenings will be updated in each newsletter.

From your slate...

Dragon Search Victoria

Readers of Reef Watcher are no doubt aware of South Australia's Dragon Search the community-based seadragon monitoring program which has been going for nearly two years. Following funding from Coast Action/Coast Care and with support from South Australia's Marine and Coastal Community Network, this worthwhile project has now been extended to Victoria.

Volunteers at the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute in Queenscliff have initiated Victoria's Dragon Search. The project is coordinated by the institute's Marine Discovery Centre and hopes to achieve the same positive response as generated in SA.

Divers, snorkellers and beachcombers are encouraged to report seadragon sightings to develop a database describing seadragon distributions.

If you would like more information or are planning a dive in Victoria, contact:

Dragon Search Coordinator
Marine Discovery Centre Volunteers
PO Box 114
Queenscliff VIC 3225
Ph (03) 5258 3344
email: [email protected]

From our slate...

Seahorses receive national protection

In a positive move for the marine environment, Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill has introduced strict controls on the export of seahorses, seadragons and pipefishes (or, collectively, 'syngnathids') from Australian waters. Worldwide, populations of syngnathids have been depleted by demand from the aquarium trade and for their use in traditional medicines.

Approximately half of the 220 known species of syngnathids are found in Australian waters, making this an important decision for the future of these unusual fish.

Marine Protected Areas

Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill has called on Australian States and Territories to place higher priority on implementing a national system of marine protected areas (MPAs). The Commonwealth is developing an action strategy to identify priority areas for management as multiple-use marine protected areas. Multiple-use management means that in many cases, industry will continue to have access to ecologically sensitive areas, so it is imperative that strict management controls are enforced if the protected area status is to be meaningful.

Senator Hill's statement is, however, important for South Australia, which currently has a relatively poor record of protecting marine areas for the purpose of biodiversity conservation. Studies by the Aquatic Sciences Branch of the South Australian Research and Development Institute have identified further areas for possible declaration as MPAs and it is hoped that Reef Watch will also be able to contribute to this process.

National Seagrass Conference

Reef Watch was represented at the National Seagrass Conference held in Canberra on the 7th and 8th of September. The conference intended to identify strategies for the monitoring of seagrass in an effort to curb the loss of large areas of this vital marine habitat this century. Southern, temperate Australia has some of the largest and most diverse seagrass meadows in the world. However, in areas such as Gulf St Vincent, large areas have been lost, presumably due to the impacts of nutrient loading of marine waters through the discharge of sewage and stormwater. Among other issues the potential for community participation in the monitoring process was discussed and this would certainly involve the recreational diving community. We will keep you up to date with further developments.

Australian Marine Conservation Society - Adelaide Branch

A new marine conservation group has formed - the Adelaide Branch of the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS). Nationally, AMCS is the leading non-government organisation concerned with the protection of marine and coastal environments. It seeks to work with government, industry and the community to ensure outcomes which will deliver effective protection and appropriate management for the marine environment.

AMCS is now represented in SA in both Adelaide and Kangaroo Island and will welcome your interest or enquiries about membership.

Adelaide branch enquiries:
Simone Burzacott
ph 8396 3623
fax 8396 3560

Kangaroo Island branch enquiries:
John Lavers
ph 0885 531 072

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