The first slot of the Malaysia 2013 Reef Check expedition returned to port yesterday after a very successful voyage around Tioman Island and out to the remote Permandgil Island where comms were poor, but the coral was awesome. Of great encouragement to our hopes that healthy reefs still occur in the region was that our scientist, Alvin, who has dived extensively throughout Asia described the reefs around Permandgil in very glowing terms. We completed all surveys and the data collected is already logged into the Reef Check system. We also managed a few lazy dives (without data collection), which were very chilled out and easy by comparison to the focus of the transect surveys.
I now have a day back at Swiss Cottage to scrub up and get my gear into order before the crew for slot two arrive. The internet sucks here, but who cares. As we know the worse the comms, the better the reefs ;), but it also means that I have only been able to upload a few pictures…
Update from our SCUBA volunteer vacation / diving conservation holiday protecting the coral reefs of Tioman, Malaysia