Issue 70 - March 2021

What’s Happening to The Most Remote Coral Reefs on Earth?

Scientists from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation have published their findings on the state of coral reefs in the Chagos Archipelago, considered the last frontier for coral reefs.

The photos on this page were taken by scientists on the Global Reef Expedition including Ken Marks, Derek Manzello, Phil Renaud, Anderson Mayfield, and Samantha Clements. All photos ©Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

In the middle of the Indian Ocean lies some of the last coral reef wilderness on Earth. The Chagos Archipelago, a collection of atolls, including Earth’s largest – the Great Chagos Bank– is home to reefs that have been largely undisturbed by humans for the last 50 years. Some estimates indicate the Chagos Archipelago may contain more than half of the healthy coral reefs remaining in the entire Indian Ocean. These reefs are protected both by their remote location, and in one of the world’s largest no-take marine reserves—the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) marine protected area.

The Global Reef Expedition mission to the Chagos Archipelago in 2015 allowed an international team of scientists to study some of the most remote and undisturbed coral reefs in the world.

In 2015, scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) came to the Chagos Archipelago to assess the status of the reefs. Over the course of two months at sea, an international team of scientists conducted thousands of surveys of the benthic and reef fish communities at over 100 locations across the archipelago. This research was conducted as part of the Foundation’s Global Reef Expedition (GRE), a 5-year research mission that circumnavigated the globe to assess the health and resiliency of coral reefs.

“The Global Reef Expedition was designed to evaluate the status of the benthic and reef fish communities and assess the impact of anthropogenic and natural disturbances on coral reef ecosystems,” said Alexandra Dempsey, the Director of Science Management at KSLOF and one of the report’s authors. “One priority for us was to study reefs with minimal human disturbance, and there was no better place on Earth to do that than the Chagos Archipelago.”

Their findings are detailed in a new report, the Global Reef Expedition: Chagos Archipelago Final Report, which contains detailed information on the diversity and abundance of corals and reef fish species along with valuable baseline data on the state of the reefs at a point in time.

What they found during the research mission were reefs with a stunning diversity of coral and an abundance of fish. Of all of the reefs surveyed on the Global Reef Expedition—the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition in history—the reefs of the Chagos Archipelago were some of the most diverse and had some of the highest coral cover and fish biomass. They also had more fish per square meter than in any country studied on the GRE.

Anemonefish nestled in its bleached anemone

“When we first arrived in the Chagos Archipelago, the reefs were stunning,” said Renée Carlton, Marine Ecologist at KSLOF and lead author on the report. “We saw reefs covered in a diverse assemblage of live coral, and surrounded by an astounding abundance of fish. It was refreshing to see such thriving reefs.”

Clouds of fish in the British Indian Ocean Territory

However, even here in what may be the most remote and well-protected reefs on Earth, there were signs of human impacts. Towards the end of the research mission, KSLOF scientists witnessed the beginning of what would become a catastrophic and global mass coral bleaching event, illustrating the expanse of the coral reef crisis. The data contained in the report released today are the last data collected in the Chagos Archipelago before this disastrous bleaching event caused mass coral mortality on the reefs.

Two divers on the Global Reef Expedition peak out above a head of coral

“Of all the reefs visited on the Global Reef Expedition, those of the Chagos Archipelago were surely the most remote and the most undisturbed,” said Sam Purkis, KSLOF’s Chief Scientist as well as Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “To witness a coral bleaching event develop during our research mission was heart-wrenching, but there’s compelling evidence that reefs which are spared direct human pressures such as overfishing and coastal development, have amplified resilience, so there was hope that the archipelago would bounce back to health relatively quickly.”

School of Longfin Spadefish (Platax teira) buzz by along a drop-off.

During the first signs of bleaching, corals in the Chagos Archipelago turned cotton-candy colored shades of pink, blue, and yellow before turning white, as the corals tried to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays after losing their symbiotic algae. As the warm waters persisted, the extent of the bleaching was readily apparent and impacted the vast majority of the shallow-water corals. A study shortly after the bleaching event found live coral fell dramatically from the relatively healthy 31-52% observed on the Global Reef Expedition, to only 5-15%. Since then, there have been promising signs the reefs are recovering, however, it is unlikely the reefs have returned to the same state they were in prior to bleaching.

The report released today will provide marine managers with information on what the reefs were like before the devastating bleaching event, so changes to the reef can be tracked over time and monitor how the ecosystem is recovering. The Foundation has shared the report with representatives from the BIOT Marine Protected Area (MPA) as well as scientists and conservation organizations invested in the preservation of these remarkable reefs.

The Global Reef Expedition mission to the Chagos Archipelago gave scientists the chance to study some of the most pristine coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. Their findings illustrate what reefs can be when protected in large no-take MPAs, but they also highlight the perils all reefs face in a changing world.

This research was conducted on the Global Reef Expedition, which circumnavigated the globe aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow to assess the health and resiliency of coral reefs.

Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation:

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is a US-based nonprofit environmental organization that protects and restores the world’s oceans through scientific research, outreach, and education. As part of its commitment to Science Without Borders®, the Living Oceans Foundation provides data and information to organizations, governments, scientists, and local communities so that they can use the latest science to work toward sustainable ocean protection. www.livingoceansfoundation.org

The fish team on the GRE mission to the Chagos Archipelago was made up of scientists from around the world.

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Related Topics:coral reef stories from the sea

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Issue 70 - March 2021

SEVENSEAS Cleanup Trip at Bang Khun Thian March 14, 2021

We had been planning on this trip since January. At first, we were to take a trip to Samed Island for beach cleanup. Due to COVID-19, we had to cancel our plans from time to time. However this month, we decided to take a short trip to Bang Khun Thian for a small cleanup for SEVENSEAS.

When viewed on a map of the Bangkok special administrative area, the district of Bang Khun Thian looks like the hind legs of a leaping elephant. This flat and wet district extends from the southwest corner of the city for some 25 km, finally bumping into a four-km expanse of muddy seacoast threaded by numerous canals, seafood farms and what’s left of a once-sprawling mangrove swamp.

Anyways, we walked around the area before we decided to pick the location for our cleanup. We chose The Kham, the area, which is close to the bikeway where watery domain where houses sit up on stilts, many locals rely on boats to get around and high tide can deliver ankle-deep water several km inland. Nearly all of the coastal forest was cleared last century to make way for rectangular ponds used for farming fish and shrimp. Unfortunately, due to pollution, some of the aquaculture sites are no longer viable for seafood farming.

From afar, the area may look neat and clean but after our observation, we found out that there are many plastic bottles, snack containers, plastic bags, and glass bottles (some of them even have urine in them. Marks threw up once because he was surprised by those…), etc. We manage to pick up around 60 kilograms of all kinds of trash here. We tried to sort out what we had picked up, but unfortunately, there was not a single trash can or garbage area for us. We had to cross the street and walk to the market nearby for that.

We hoped that this COVID situation will get better soon so we could do more for our monthly cleanup events. Please support our work by making a DONATION for SEVENSEAS Media on The Ocean Foundation or join us in a future event, which we will keep you posted on our Facebook page and Weekly Newsletter.

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Issue 70 - March 2021

Whistleblower Advocates Launch GoFundMe Campaign for Fishrot Whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson

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On March 1, 2021, Whistleblowing International, ANA LOGO, and the U.S.-based Whistleblower Network News, National Whistleblower Center launched a GoFundMe campaign to support Fishrot whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson. Stefánsson is the former Director of Operations in Namibia for Icelandic fishing company Samherji. He worked with anti-corruption authorities and the media to expose a fishing rights bribery scheme in Namibia. Samherji CEO Thorsteinn Mar Baldvinsson is under investigation for allegedly approving bribes, estimated at $10 million, to Namibian politicians and companies to illegally obtain offshore fishing rights. Namibia’s justice and fisheries ministers resigned and were arrested on corruption charges, along with several other prominent Namibian figures. Last month, Namibian President Hage Geingob was linked to the scandal. Baldvinsson stepped aside but was later reinstated by Samherji. Multiple investigations are underway in several countries, and new revelations of criminality are still coming to light.

Since blowing the whistle, Stefánsson has faced severe retaliation. He not only lost his job but has also survived multiple attempts on his life and believes he has been poisoned. Set to return to Namibia to testify this April, Stefánsson says that he continues to pursue justice in the face of danger.

The whistleblower groups formed an international coalition to assist Stefánsson in his plight for justice and, more importantly, help him get immediately treated for poisoning. He has been unable to receive adequate poisoning treatment in Iceland and is financially unable to seek treatment internationally. Whistleblowers like Stefánsson are integral to rooting out corruption worldwide, and they need help doing it.

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Issue 70 - March 2021

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