An Acoustic Approach to Resource Mapping of Pulau Payar’s Coral Reef - BOBP/REP/87
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This document discusses the rationale, the conduct and the results of a new approach — the hydro-acoustic method — tried out to map the reef substrate of four islands at Pulau Payar Marine Park, Kedah state, Malaysia. The decision to adopt the method was taken after an October 1997 workshop held under the Special Area Management Plan of the Pulau Payar project, with support from the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP). A private company carried out the reef mapping exercise, whose objective was to document the diversity of coral growth forms at Pulau Payar, map and quantify coral resources, and prepare an update on the coral reef status at Pulau Payar, assessing any damage to the reef. The exercise was carried out in view ofthe plans by the Department of Fisheries, Malaysia, to inventory all the reefs in the country’s islands. Over the years, coral survey techniques have depended heavily on the SCUBA method which is considered risky, time-consuming and costly. Further, i t is impossible to produce a broadscale map with the SCUBA diving method. The author believes that the “new, repeatable and non-destructive hydro-acoustic survey approach” heralds a new era in corat studies.