5th of May 2019

We have great news to share! We have been in contact with Reef Check Malaysia, and last week we decided to start an official partnership.

Reef Check is an organization which started in 1996 and is present in 82 countries around the world. Reef Check was established in the USA to raise awareness on the importance of, and threats to, coral reefs. In order to assess the health of the reef, the method Reef Check Monitoring Survey got developed.

Reef Check Eco Divers

In January, two members from our research team got certified as Reef Check Eco-divers by Reef Check Indonesia. The three-day course taught them about Reef Check methodology and they practiced the method both on land and in the open ocean.

Eco-Diver is a certification program that enables divers to conduct their own Reef Check surveys and take an active role in conserving coral reefs. The data collected helps Reef Check and Scientists to understand and protect coral reefs around the globe.

When carrying out the Reef Check Monitoring survey, there are four areas to assess: fish, invertebrates, substrate and impact. It’s done along a transect that extends 100 meters on the reef. To conduct this method it takes: teamwork, good buoyancy control and a thorough knowledge of the species specific to the survey. In the Shark Team we already rely on all of these skills in our daily data collection.

Working Together To Protect What We Love

We can’t wait to work together with Reef Check Malaysia, who registered as a non-profit organization in 2007. Since then they’ve worked to engage with the local community as well as protecting and restoring coral reefs in Malaysia.

Reef Check Malaysia partners with a global network of trained and certified EcoDiver volunteers. We are sure that by partnering up, we can share and learn from each other’s experiences. And most importantly – support each other in our shared mission to save the coral reefs.