Kuwaiti Diving Team monitors coral density, colonies
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10, (KUNA): The Kuwaiti Diving Team announced that it had monitored coral density and types of coral colonies in the coasts extending from Kuwait Towers to Ras Al Salmiya as part of the Gulf Coast Coral Monitoring and Follow-up Initiative, and this discovery is the first of its kind.
The team’s environmental projects official, Mahmoud Ashkanani, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Monday that preserving coral reefs is one of the team’s most important activities.
Ashkanani explained that the team launched an initiative to monitor and follow up the developing coral colonies near the coasts in the Gulf in cooperation with several parties, during which periodic tours were made to the coasts of Kuwait and the Gulf to identify the nature of these colonies and determine their types, conditions and depths in which they grow.
He added that coral reefs are concentrated in the south of Kuwait’s coasts due to the nature of their waters that are commensurate with their growth and provide their requirements, unlike the coasts of central and
northern Kuwait, which are considered a very harsh environment for their growth due
to the increase in turbidity, salinity and high temperatures.
He stated that the team, during its various activities in the coasts of central and northern Kuwait, in addition to the Gulf, and at depths not exceeding ten meters, monitored many scattered coral colonies with good numbers and types, sometimes dense, but they do not form coral reefs consisting of the convergence of several colonies and large masses.
He pointed out that the discovery of coral colonies in these difficult environments is a remarkable development in the growth of coral in Kuwait and its adaptation to these conditions from 75 percent in 2010.
He explained that coral is a living mollusk that secretes a solid substance to build cavities in which colonies, reefs and other organisms can settle. It is also a tourist attraction for recreation, an important source of cosmetics, medical and building materials.
He added that the team conducted a preliminary examination of the coral colonies on the northern rocks of the Marina Yacht Club, photographing them, following up on their condition, and determining their types and sizes.