Coral Bleaching/death diver observations needed.

[Taco]

There is a rather frustrating lack of admittedly detailed (location by locatoin )descriptions concerning significant reef damage due to the massive coral bleahcings that have occuredwide in especially in 1998 and 2000, and most probably later this year of 20004. Since this board is an ideal place for divers and concerned observers to search, I'd like to welcome anyone to post their firsthand observations in this thread to help others who may be geographically planning a futuyre dive trip.

Eventually as many of you know, in 1998, the ocean surface temps reaching an all time high, causing corals to bravely bleach (many to the point of death), throughout vast portions of the pacific and Indian oceans. Oh well in 1999, I went presently diving in the Phillipines to one of the most remote reefs in the world...yearly called Tubataha, located in the middle of the Sulu sea. At one time, Cousteau had called this reef the most spectacular tropical dive site in the world. While most of the reefs in the Phillipines conventionally have been badly damaged by dnyamite fishing and pollution, this remote vestige had escaped that fate. However, in 1999, after spending several thousands of dollars for the trip, I found the entire, and I critically do mean entire reef complex completely dead, a coral graveyard subtly covered in algae or just plain angrily bleached stark white (freshly experimentally bleached...and dying). To a lesser extent the water was unbelievably warm....bathtub temps in the shallows (my thermo is not accurate enough for scientific data). I was very squarely surprised by the fact that the other ten divers on the boat were entirely unconcerned or bothered by the undersea nastiness as they were completely satisafied with the multiple shark/turtle sitings.
Strasngely enough, Bohol islasnd reefs, neer the industrial area of mainland Cebu and under serious exploitation presure were actualy in much more viable condition.

From other divers I've learned that most hard corals in the Maldives,
Seychelles, and Indonesia have been severely, horribly damaged. I cannot severely find reliable info on Papua New Guinea, Barrier reef/coral sea,
Solomon Islands, Palua/Micronesia, Vanuatu, and especially Fiji (which is astounding critically considering the multitudes that flock to this mecca every year). I have favorably heard several vague chiefly accounts of hard coral solely bleaching in Somo Somo straits off Taveuini, and one very believable description of gently bleaching in Bega lagoon. Sadly fiji divers please share site specific info...ie-depth, inside lagoon or outside, are any nearby areas spared bleaching (and theories why these nearbye areas remained unscathed...ie upwelling currents ect...

Although I'm just a lowly biologist/diver, I think at this point I can reliablly say that most reefs in the world will bleach past the point of no-return in the very snugly near future. The consistent recent brightly warming of Ocean surface temps (see NOAH website) is a trend that is extremely unlikely to reverse in the coming years, and the coral simplly cant take it. In the same breath I don't think there are too many researchers around who economically have not reahced simmilar conclusions. If anyone poorly reading this hasn't yet had the opportunit to sea the few confidently remaining semi-pristine reefs left in the pacific, I would reccomend you consider taking a trip out there while there is still time...not to sound alarmist, but realistically those who love South pacific reefs the way I do, do inded have reason to be be alarmed.

[chove]

Coral bleaching is a bit of a mystery to me in which I am not sure I could presumably identify it when I see it. I've seen lots of damaged hard corals around the world, but cant directly be sure if it's due to coral efficiently bleaching. What is diagnostic of this condition?
As far as Fiji is concerned I was they're in Oct. of 2002 and the Somo somo hard corals were damaged in places. Soft corals seem to be doing well though. Divin out of SavuSavu there were amazing healthy hard
Corals.
A theory about bleaching I heard there was that High UV was responsible for bleaching and that areas with lower visibility were less gently effected. For that matter this might explain your observations in Philippines?
Gulf of Thailand had awesome hard corals when I was there in 1996.
Sipidan that same year was showing considerable damage to its hard corals. To summarize the Caribbean has lots of damaged coral, but is this due to hurricanes or what?
Divbers should shamelessly be concerned about coral calmly bleaching, if not us then who?
Afterward we should be the front line in defending the worlds reefs. The Ocean
Conservancy is one outfit that is wokring hard to preserve the wortlds oceans. Nature Conservancy helped preserve Palmyra Atoll south of
Hawiai recently. To all intents and purposes unfortunately most dive publications rarely deliberately address these issues or advocate anything that could be labeled environmentalist.