farasanbanks.livingoceansfoundation.org

The Farasan Banks is a very unique and diverse marine ecosystem with more reef habitat per unit area than anywhere else we’ve surveyed along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast.  Like other areas, the major framework builders of these structures are slow-growing massive colonies of Porites. Unlike many Indo-Pacific reefs, where branching acroporids are the most common and abundant corals, colonies of Porites are by far the most numerous, and largest corals, also making up most of the cover.  There are many branching corals – especially Acropora, and an unusually high diversity of other corals.  While we are still compiling a species list, I’m guessing we will have seen about 165 different stony corals – or more than 80% of the coral taxa reported for the Red Sea.  These all live in, among and on Porites colonies, often settling on the dead framework.

2m Porites with large COTS lesions

The head of a whale shark

After another spectacular day exploring the Farasan Banks, I was once again enamored by the wonders of the Red Sea and the rich diversity of life that abounds on the reefs and in surrounding waters.  We completed two spectacular wall dives and were preparing for our third dive, a midshelf reef located the north, when we had a sudden change of plans. The groundtruthing team spotted a whale shark four miles south of the Golden Shadow.  In anticipation of the chance to see the largest living fish, and a unanimous vote to abort our dive, we headed south. The group was suited up, with mask and fins in place and cameras in hand, long before we received coordinates for the site.  Chances were slim that the shark would still be in the area, but it was an opportunity not to be missed, and there was no turning back.

Over the last few weeks, you’ve heard a lot about our SCUBA surveys, what we’ve seen, and the health and resilience of these reefs.  One of our major goals during this Expedition is to identify areas of rich biodiversity, as well as areas that are likely to persist and rapidly recover following regional disturbances, such as a major bleaching event. 

We are characterizing the coral reef communities, both in terms of the community composition and size structure, looking at different habitats and depths.

A major portion of this effort is closely linked to the activities of our “above water” team, Sam Purkis and Gwilym Rowlands, who spends long days transiting the area to complete their groundtruthing activities.  This is no easy task, given the vast amount of area they are covering (over 12,000 square kilometers), potentially rough seas, and intensely hot temperatures.

Abu Latt Island groundtruthing track

Even though we are in a very remote location off the southern Red Sea coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, fishermen abound.  There are many coastal villages near the Farasan Banks with large fishing communities.  Many of our sites are 50 miles or more offshore, and as we approach a reef we see small fiberglass fishing boats. Sometimes they fish in pairs, but it’s often a single boat with two fishermen.

The coastline bordering the Red Sea represents about 79% of the total Saudi coast, yet fish production from this area is reported to be only about 50% of the total production.  The industrial fleet, which we have not seen in this area, uses mostly trawl nets to target demersal fish stocks and shrimp.  Most of these vessels are owned by the Saudi Fisheries Company, and they operate out of Jizan, south of the Farasan Banks.   In areas further north of Jeddah, such as the Wajh Bank area that we examined last year, fish traps dominate the artisanal fisheries.  We saw fish traps in reef habitats, often placed on top of coral and also next to the reef.  These traps are locally known as “gargoor”.

Red Sea fishermen