Reef Check

What is Reef Check?

Reef Check is an international marine conservation organization based in Los Angeles, California.

The Reef Check program brings together community groups, government agencies, academia and business partners to:

• Educate the public about the coral reef crisis
• Create a global network of volunteer teams to regularly monitor and report on reef health
• Scientifically investigate coral reef ecosystem processes
• Facilitate collaboration among academia, NGOs, governments and businesses
• Stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide using ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions

Reef Check implements conservation goals through coral reef monitoring, management and education.

Find out more about Reef Check at http://www.reefcheck.org

Sea Dragon Malaysia and Reef Check?

Sea Dragon Malaysia is the only dive center in KL at the moment offering the Reef Check EcoDiver program. The EcoDiver program is targeted at certified divers and teaches divers how to survey a local coral reef and compile the results into a datasheet which is then sent to the Reef Check Foundation headquarters in California. The Foundation then analyzes the data and draws up sustainable management programs for the locals to use in order to rehabilitate the reef and to ensure its health in the future. Some of the management programs would be the setting up of Marine Protected Areas, as well as guidelines to overfishing, sedimentation, over-construction.

In our local islands especially, tourism is a major contributing factor to the destruction of our coral reefs. In their rush to tap into the tourist goldmine, there is construction of local marinas and resorts that result in a lot of damage to our coral reefs.

Sea Dragon Malaysia is involved in Reef Check by offering the EcoDiver program, as well as doing four Reef Check surveys a year.