Masbat Bay Conservation
Habitat rehabilitation and artificial reefs using natural resources as a first step to conserve habitat diversity and increase attractiveness of Masbat Bay for tourism

Dahab is a popular destination for snorkelers, divers and surfers. The Masbat Bay, which is the main bay in Dahab, is used for these types of water sports, and is often being used as a training area for dive courses and novice snorkelers. Scientists from the Red Sea Environmental Centre (RSEC) in Dahab, together with volunteering biologists and students, are presently observing a human impact on the reefs and its adjacent habitats of apparently substantial magnitude (illegal fishing, building and littering in the tidal zone, environmental unfriendly diving and snorkelling practises, reef walking, etc.).

Importance of Masbat Bay
Masbat Bay is one of the most important areas for future tourism in Dahab. These are the only sites where entering the water, snorkelling and swimming is possible without walking over the reef flat, even with strong winds. Furthermore, Masbat Bay encloses the highly frequented and popular dive sites Lighthouse (fringing coral reef), Bannerfish area (granite rocky reefs, seagrass meadows, sandy patches), Mashraba (entering bay from south, with seagrass, sand, rocky reef formations) and a beautiful shallow patch reef (Nemo Reef).  The seagrass and sandy habitats harbour a variety of life usually not encountered in coral reef habitats e.g. Jayakar's seahorse Hippocampus jayakari, Hairy pipehorse Acentronura tentaculata and the Butterfly goby Amblygobius albimaculatus. In addition, a variety of juvenile fish feed and shelter in the seagrass beds. 

Purpose
The purpose of the Masbat Bay Conservation Project is to establish the diversity and abundance of organisms of different habitats in the bay. Due to the illegal fishing in the Bay and fewer observations by divers of fish targeted for food (e.g. groupers larger than 30 cm, large snappers etc.) we initiated a “food fish” monitoring. Furthermore, a study of the connectivity between coral reefs and seagrass beds will give a better understanding of the protection needed for sustainable use of these important habitats.

Project description
You will learn to collect data underwater using different survey techniques, analyse and interpret the data. The project will run for four weeks, during which  presentations, training, fieldwork (and laboratory work) in the following topics will be given:

After each topic a small report should be written (in groups). Other small group projects will also be carried out (e.g. environmental awareness for locals and tourists, underwater clean-ups, beach clean-ups, habitat mapping of the bay and habitat rehabilitation).

Project schedule
30. Oct. - 27. Nov. 2010 (4 weeks)

Project prerequisites
PADI Open Water Diver (or similar) with at least 15 dives, biology student (or courses in basic biology). Certain measures (small projects) may require the PADI Advanced Open Water Course (or similar). Knowledge of marine biology is an advantage.

Participants
Maximum number of participants for the project is 10.

Price
Package includes:  40 local dives (in the bay), airport transfers,  4 weeks accommodation, training, one day trip to Nabq protectorate (mangroves) - 650* €. *Price is excluding diving equipment! You can rent full dive equipment (except dive computer) for 5 € (+10 % sales tax) per dive at Sinai Divers Backpackers.

Application procedure
Please send a short e-mail with CV to nina.milton(at)redsea-ec.org. We will send you confirmation and invoice as soon as possible.

Masbat Bay Conservation - March 2010

Hooray! Having finished most of the substrate and fish transects, we finally started the sea grass monitoring today. For this part of our project, we constructed several one by one meter quadrates that were laid out at depths of twenty, fifteen and ten meters to the left of Bannerfish Bay. Within the quadrates we will monitor the percentage of cover, the species of sea grass, canopy height and macro fauna. The quadrates will be part of a long-term monitoring, making them a PERMANENT installation on the seagrass in Masbat Bay. We would like to ask you not to touch or move the quadrates in any way, since it would affect the accuracy of the data we collect!
Seagrasses are in global decline, with more than thirty thousand square kilometers lost during recent decades. The main cause is human disturbance, most notably eutrophication, mechanical destruction of habitat, and overfishing. Excessive input of nutrients is directly toxic to seagrasses, but most importantly, it stimulates the growth of epiphytic and free-floating algae. Their abundance weakens the sunlight, reducing the photosynthesis that nourishes the seagrass and thus reducing primary production.
Seagrass beds are highly diverse and productive ecosystems - even though they may not look like it at first glance. They can harbor hundreds of associated species from all phyla, for example juvenile and adult fish, epiphytic and free-living algae, mollusks, bristle worms, and nematodes. Few species were originally considered to feed directly on seagrass leaves, but scientific reviews and improved working methods have shown that seagrass herbivory is a highly important link in the food chain, with hundreds of species feeding on seagrasses worldwide, including green turtles, dugongs, manatees, fish, geese, swans, sea urchins and crabs.
By monitoring the changes within the quadrates, we are trying gain more knowledge of the anthropogenic and natural impacts on the ecosystem and work towards its protection. We would really appreciate, if you could refrain from moving, touching or changing the position of the quadrates in any way, so that we can establish a permanent observation of this sensitive environment!

take a look at our videos below as well!

Trip to Nabq protectorate on 10.3.2010 with Volunteers of this project

Normally our primary work takes place at Masbat Bay, right in front of beautiful Dahab, but after a week or so we were also eager to explore some of the surrounding area. Organized by Chris and Nina, our daytrip to Nabq, a protected reserve located a mere hour’s drive to the south of Dahab, provided a great opportunity to see some more of the countryside and exceeded every expectation we might have had that day.

After putting together our snorkeling gear, our first stop on the drive through the desert was at a small patch of trees that have been known to harbor venomous snakes and stinging scorpions. Even after turning over every rock in the area, (un)fortunately none of them could be discovered. However, just before leaving we were rewarded for our patience by the sight of a beautifully colored lizard that stayed put on a rocks and posed professionally for our cameras.

Our next stop were the dunes in which nothing too alive could be found, but due to the recent rain we spotted the tracks of a desert fox on some dried-up sand tiles and admired the plants that are able to grow in such a harsh environment. Since the prevailing winds come from the north, plants such as Limonium axilare and Nitraria retusa consistently get covered with sand on their northern side and therefore - instead of growing in height - extend their branches just above the ground towards the south. Sand is accumulated on the opposite side and therefore most of the small dunes only exist, because those amazing plants are able to deal with the high salinity and little fresh water supply.

Escaping from high noon heat, the visitor centre proved to be a good retreat and – even though it offered little insight into the protected area which we hadn’t been briefed on already – gave us some interesting information about the desert’s inhabitants. Did you know that there are still hyenas living in Sinai, and that the last leopard spot in the area was more than fifty years ago, effectively making it an extinct species? Well, we certainly didn`t.

At this point it wouldn’t hurt to give you a little overview of where we actually are, geographically speaking. Having stopped in the desert for the lizard, we had moved on towards the coast and into the dunes, with the visitor centre close to the sea and right in front a shipwreck which astonishes with its rusty magnificence and is surrounded by pristine blue water, providing the occasional diver with a not-too-crowded and attractive dive site. However, getting there would have meant walking over the reef flat, and that of course is not an option, so we drove north to our final stop for the day – an area along the coast that features one of the northernmost stands of mangroves, consisting exclusively of Avicenna marina. Mangroves on the Red Sea grow under extreme conditions of high salinity and low winter temperatures. Some of the mangroves around Nabq have adapted to this harsh environment by becoming completely terrestrial , now forming part of the coastal marsh and dune vegetation, having lost their aerial roots altogether. However, since we had taken our snorkel gear, the land based trees were not of the greatest interest – after all, mangroves form an important and sensitive ecosystem, providing an ideal environment for young fish and invertebrates.

To explore those shallow water nurseries we set up our last camp at a beautiful beach hut that provided us with a shady palm leaf roof and a couple of chilled-out hammocks, all looked after by a very forthcoming Bedouin, who also made us some great food for after the snorkel session. And then we went into the water – usually one might think of being in the mangroves as a very muddy affair, but that was far from the truth. Swimming around two mangrove stands proved to be an exciting and entertaining lesson – so much life! After exploring a forest of upside-down jellyfish in various colors (including a very confused upside-down upside-down individual) , most of them sitting on the ground supplying their zooxanthellae with the much needed sunlight, we quickly found several gobies and their little shrimp fellows, living in a mutually beneficial relationship. The shrimp maintains a burrow in the sand in which both the shrimp and the goby live. The shrimp has poor eyesight compared to the goby, but if it sees or feels the goby suddenly swim into the burrow, it will follow. The goby and shrimp keep in contact with each other, the shrimp using its antennae, and the goby flicking the shrimp with its tail when alarmed. Each party gains from this relationship: the shrimp gets a warning of approaching danger, and the goby gets a safe home and a place to lay its eggs in. And then things just went crazy – batfish, boxfish, hermit crabs, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, juvenile fish of countless species, moray eels… even a Hexbranchus sanguinis, a Spanish Dancer, completely exhausted from just laying a pile off eggs and resting under a massive sea urchin. We must have stayed in the water for over two hours, appreciating all these stunning marine organisms, but all too soon it was time to go. After having some food, we chilled out and admired the blue waters, the desert and the high mountains from our shady palm hut refuge– a magnificent sight that cannot ever be caught on camera and much less put into words.

As already mentioned, this trip exceeded all our expectations and we did not only enjoy the extraordinary nature, but also learned a great deal about it – not from a textbook or a presentation, but through an experience we will remember for a long time. If you ever have the opportunity to visit and explore Nabq, by all means – do it!

by Eike Steinig

Masbat Bay Conservation - Clean Ups after the storm & wadi flood this year

Coral reefs and seagrass beds are fragile ecosystems. Their delicate balance can easily be destroyed, particularly through anthropogenic influences – including rubbish and all sorts of things that just don’t belong in the water. Plastic is found everywhere – unfortunately it takes a small eternity to disintegrate. The plastic constricts animals’ movements or kills through starvation, exhaustion, or infection from deep wounds caused by the tightening material. The animals may starve to death, because the plastic clogs their intestines thereby preventing them from obtaining vital nutrients. When plastic film and other debris settle on the bottom, it can suffocate immobile plants and animals. In areas with some currents, such as coral reefs, debris can wrap around living coral, smothering the animals and breaking up their coralline structures. The impact on the ecosystem is terrifying, and this is only a one part of what can be found down there. Moreover, who would like to dive through a sea of trash and rubbish?  Imagine coming to your favorite chill-out spot and everything is covered in filthy garbage – well, that’s what it is like in some places of the bay, especially on the sea grass beds close to the main promenade.
As part of the Masbat Bay Conservation Project, we try to organize a clean-up every Friday. This time we collected four rice-bags of garbage ranging from cables, pipes, carpets and innumerable pieces of plastic to cigarette butts, plastic bags, empty cans and even a sunshade umbrella, which we couldn’t take up due to its size - in only forty five minutes! Also, extensive coral damage and breakage was observed. In many places, rubbish got entangled in the corals, reducing the amount of sunlight for their symbiotic algae, causing the death of the coral and other related organisms.
We would like to encourage all dive centers in and around Dahab to support our efforts by organizing their own clean-ups and initiate other measures to keep Masbat Bay as clean as possible – not only for its reputation as a unique dive site, but also to minimize our destructive impact on its sensitive environment!