COUNTING AND CONSERVATION IN CAMBODIA
Fifty-six minutes into a seahorse survey, and no seahorses. How unfair that such beautifully impressive creatures are also so agonisingly elusive! I glance to my left to see my buddy painstakingly scanning the seagrass bed beneath us… with just four short minutes left to survey, I can tell he’s as anxious as I am to find this almost mystically dragon-like fish.
We’re told in our survey training that seahorses are the masters of camouflage, effortlessly vanishing into their surroundings, but all of a sudden this is turned on its head and it seems as if every strand of seagrass has become a seahorse.
I stop for a moment and hover, concentrating hard to properly observe the life around me: A couple of waspfish lie motionless and hidden in the dense meadow; a small chocolate-drop sea star lurks next to them in wait of food; to my right, three shimmering fusiliers dart after one another; and there… finally, a seahorse!
Strikingly yellow, this is undoubtedly the most impressive individual I’ve sighted so far during my six weeks on the island, and I can’t help but smile as I signal to my buddy to come over for a look. The two of us could be captivated by this golden female for hours. The skillful way the body sways back and forth in the swell while its curled tail holds fast to the seagrass is almost hypnotically mesmerising. After allowing the seahorse to accept our presence as unthreatening, I carefully take a few measurements and photos, identifying it as a Hippocampus kuda. Then, the two of us surface for a ceremonial fist bump – survey success!
GETTING STUCK IN
I’m staying on the beautifully remote island of Koh Seh in Cambodia, and will be working with Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC) for a total of three months. After being accepted to study a BSc in marine biology, I decided to look for some hands-on experience in marine conservation. MCC’s research into seahorses really intrigued me – particularly the aspects relating to the human/environmental interface in Cambodia, and the use of seahorses as an indicator species for the health of local ecosystems.
The waters surrounding Kep Archipelago have been decimated by destructive overfishing in the last few decades, and the seahorse is a key species that can be monitored to track the ecosystems’ recovery – recovery that is happening as result of conservation strategies implemented by MCC. Now, midway through my time here, I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision to fly halfway around the world to join the (albeit mildly dysfunctional) family of volunteers and staff! Each day I learn something new, laugh at something new and go to bed exhausted!
As well as the surveys and data collection, MCC also offers the opportunity to be involved with all kinds of projects: mangrove cultivation, patrolling for illegal trawlers, coral planting, seagrass mapping, aquaculture projects, and even writing proposals for marine protected areas.
Now, midway through my time here, I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision to fly halfway around the world to join the family of volunteers and staff!
STUDYING, SURVEYS, AND STATS
Hippocampus kuda, like the one my buddy and I found, is a smooth bodied seahorse, and one of eight species that the volunteers at MCC learn to identify. Education begins with presentations from the project’s very own seahorse expert and volunteer coordinator, Amick. From there, each volunteer receives an iSeahorse Toolkit to study, before taking a small test. This all ensures that everyone has a sold basic knowledge of seahorses and substrates (their habitats) before beginning surveys. In addition, longer-term volunteers can choose to study fish, substrate or invertebrates to assist with reef surveys (something I’m currently attempting). Daily, all information collected on the seahorse surveys is added to a database, where it can be scrutinised by any volunteers senseless enough to enjoy statistical analysis, and conclusions can be drawn about changes in seahorse population in the waters around Koh Seh.
In fact, one of the most groundbreaking investigations into underwater seahorse tagging is centered at MCC. Monthly dives take place in which seahorses are safely injected with a polymer dye to form four small coloured marks that can be used to identify the individual. When the tagged seahorses are sighted in future, it is then possible to ascertain data regarding the pattern of its movement, growth rate, and any other changes to the individual. Watching the tagging process has been one of my personal highlights whilst on the island, and something I will never forget as the most interesting investigation technique I’ve witnessed.
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY?
Although the island is a hub of activity each day and everyone is dedicated to the work going on, there’s no shortage of time for play! From volleyball matches to late nights relaxing in hammocks and morning meditation to stargazing, Koh Seh has something for everyone and is impossible not to fall in love with.
MCC is a small organisation operating on so many fronts to fight for conservation, so working here as a volunteer can really give you the feeling of making a difference. The best part? It all starts with a seahorse.