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Divers urged to join reef survey
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Posted on Apr 16 2002
Certified divers may now get the chance to help evaluate the condition of the Commonwealth’s reef through a special project called “Reef Check” that will be held on April 20 at the Obyan Beach at 12 noon.
A mandatory training session for the participants will be conducted on April 19 at 6:30pm at the Kilili Beach Pavilion across the Civic Center.
Reef Check is a program—designed to educate and involve the public—used by the CNMI Marine Monitoring Team in its survey program. The program has been simplified to allow recreational divers to participate in gathering scientific survey site. Sources of damage to the reef, coral health, fish abundance and water quality are all measured and evaluated.
The information gathered during this survey will be reported to the Reef Check Headquarters at the University of California-Los Angeles. Saipan’s survey will be compared to data collected by Reef Check teams from around the world to provide a snapshot of the global state of coral reef health. This global analysis should be available by early next year.
Reef Check on Rota is being planned for later this month. Participation is open to any certified diver who is interested. For more information about Reef Check, contact CNMI’s Reef Check coordinator at the CRM Office at 664-8303 or contact your favorite dive shop.
