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FACTORS
INFLUENCING THE RATE AT WHICH SCUBA DIVERS MAKE CONTACT WITH REEFS AROUND HOGA
ISLAND
The
popularity of SCUBA diving as a recreational sport is increasing as is the
divers desire to dive in warm waters where reef habitats are in abundance and
produce amazing sites. The temptation to explore these areas is too good to
resist and all too soon become degraded resulting in the continuous search for
new pristine sites for tour operators to exploit. With access to sites improving
along with facilities there has also been an increase in the number of
researches using diving as their principle methodology.
However,
the issue of the damage that divers have the potential to cause is only now
being recognized as a problem and slowly more and more research is being
directed into looking at the extent of this damage as well as the influences
that will affect contact.
Recreational
diving within the area of Wakatobi Marine National Park is still relatively low
in comparison to areas such as the Red Sea or the Great Barrier Reef. The
majority of dives that take place are research based but as information about
the quality of diving spreads there is the possibility that numbers will
increase rapidly. It is therefore necessary to establish which of the different
groups of divers tend to cause the most damage and also investigate what action
can be taken to reduce the impact of SCUBA diving on the reef.
Aims:
To understand the factors that influence the number of contacts made by
scuba divers on coral reef systems.
To understand the effects of different briefing strategies on the number
of contacts made by scuba divers on coral reef systems.
Fieldwork was conducted
within the area of Wakatobi Marine National Park around the island of Hoga,
which acted as the base site. A large-scale study of the behavior of divers
while in the water was undertaken and a variety of aspects were looked at.
Divers of all levels of training and experience were followed and watched for
ten-minute segments. The divers were not made aware of our presence and a
lengthy distance was kept between the subject and the observer depending on the
visibility (usually 10m). Details of current, group size, depth, visibility,
reef topography, activity, gender, camera use and whether the group was being
guided were all noted down on a slate. Ages and qualifications were also
obtained from the Operation Wallacea database.
Contact
by divers was recorded by noting what type of substratum was hit and also with
which part of the diver. Educational programs were also put into practice.
Certain groups of people were either used as controls or were gives one of
either a video, a lecture or a short boat briefing before entering the water,
all of which outlined the damage that divers could cause without adequate
buoyancy control or due care and attention while in the water.
From
initial results it is possible to identify that the mean contact rate is 0.9
contacts per 10-minute segment. This includes contact with both live and
non-live substratum and can be compared to last years figure of 0.6. It is
important to remember however that the season is not yet over and there is still
a possibility that this figure could both fall or rise. From literature that is
available on this topic the mean contact rate for other studies is approximately
1.6, which is much greater than the contact rate of this study and is a possible
indication that the volunteers with Operation Wallacea are more environmentally
aware in general.
The
majority of contact that occurred was voluntarily made with the hand where
divers place one finger on rock to steady themselves or push away from the reef
if they get too close. Involuntary contact was primarily made with the fins
(39%), which as an extension of the body are often forgot about when maneuvering
over or beside the reef. Within the live contact, the most commonly touched
coral was of the massive growth form (38%) and it is necessary to point out that
it is this form of coral growth that take the longest to recover. With non-live
contact it was sand that was contacted the most and this may be due to
inappropriate buoyancy control and lack of experience when encountering a reef
flat or base of a reef wall.
Further
statistical analysis will be performed on return to Royal Holloway where
hopefully a clear and concise picture will be formed as to the factors that
influence diver contact.
A final year dissertation report will be completed by Hannah Booth, Royal Holloway College, University of London by May 2003.