Methods in tropical reefs monitoring

Notre histoire

5th Reef Check course at SAKATIA Island

Nosy-Be, Madagscar 15-27 november 2026

Mora Mora Conservation and Biologist Christian Solterer organise an international field course on coral reefs monitoring approaches opened to both marine biology students and diver volunteers from around the world. The course, taught in English,french and german aims to:

provide the basic knowledge for the identification of hard corals and their diseases
present an overview of the well-established coral reefs monitoring approaches
learn and apply different methods underwater, including Reef Check and Coral Watch protocols
contribute to the monitoring and conservation of the coral reefs in the Nosy Be area

Lectures and seminars will be alternated with day and night dives, as well as practical sessions. At the end of the course, it is expected that the participants demonstrate what they learned and discuss the results achieved. Participants will obtain the international tropical EcoDiver certification issued by the Reef Check Foundation. They can also obtain, if desired, the PAD/SSI ecology specialities for coral, fish, invertebrates, turtles and nudibranch identification.

Venue

Coral Eye (https://www.coral-eye.com) is a unique Boutique Resort on Bangka Island, North Sulawesi in Indonesia. Originally founded as an outpost for marine studies, today Coral Eye Bangka is a melting pot of passionate travellers, dive enthusiasts, underwater photographers, and marine biologists. Coral Eye was designed to place the guest at the centre of the space, creating a unique environment that favours socialisation and communication between people united by a common passion for the sea.
The project came to life in 2009, as four young marine biologists decided to pursue their dreams & passions and set up a marine outpost on Bangka Island, North Sulawesi - Indonesia, right in the heart of the Coral Triangle. The original idea was to create a co-working outpost where universities and students could exchange ideas and develop their projects on tropical marine environments. In 2013, following the construction of the diving centre and lots of hard work, Coral Eye opened its doors to tourism as an alternative to mix science with passion and love for the sea. Through the new concept we were able to finance environmental projects, offer scholarships to students and better support local communities.
In 2022 Coral Eye joins forces with the Siladen Resort and Spa to form a new partnership and elevate the resort to a new level of comfort for guests. While keeping the original community spirit of Coral Eye and the characteristics that have distinguished it from other resorts since its founding, the new partnership adds a touch of luxury with 7 new private beach view villas and an upgrade of the existing rooms and general guest services.

Reef Check EcoDiver Program

The Reef Check EcoDiver program allows anyone with an interest in the ocean to learn more about tropical coral reefs. Reef Check combines education with action to give volunteers a unique experience while taking an active role in conserving the world's reefs. The EcoDiver program allows participants the rare opportunity to work with teams of scientists throughout the world to combat the crises affecting our reefs today. The world's reefs are changing fast, and it is up to us to ensure that reefs are around for future generations. Using the globally standardised scientific protocol, the Reef Check EcoDiver program collects valuable data to establish the status of coral reefs world-wide. The data are analysed and used locally by marine park managers, nationally by fisheries and environment managers and internationally by organisations including United Nations agencies to help better track and care for coral reefs.
Become certified to conduct your Reef Check surveys and take an active role in conserving your favourite coral reefs. This course is designed to teach you everything you need to know to conduct full-scale Reef Check surveys. In this program, you will learn all about the globally standardised Reef Check methodology as well as how to identify key indicator fish, invertebrates and substrates selected by Reef Check for global monitoring and conservation of coral reefs! This course will allow you to join the Reef Check monitoring team and assist in underwater surveys around the world.

Methods include substrate, fish and invertebrate transects coupled with a socio-economic survey.
Materials: Reef Check EcoDiver Kit for Indo-Pacific, including data board.
Testing and Certification: PowerPoint ID test (80% to pass) and field ID test (90%) to obtain regional certification. Certification qualifies the holder to participate in Reef Check surveys in the region and to submit their data to the global database.

More info: http://reefcheck.org/ecodiver/about-ecodiver/

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Coral Finder Method

An underwater book to learn how identify hard corals and discover the huge species diversity in a coral reef. The answer to the question “What coral is that?” is in your head – literally. Your eyes and brain are the world’s most powerful supercomputer capable of solving complex visual problems instantly. Traditional field guides put text between you and the answer – and text needs to be interpreted. The Coral Finder reduces the problem of identifying corals to a series of simple visual choices. The Coral Finder makes coral identification practical and easy by using WYSIWYLF –
What You See Is What You Look For! Instead of memorising thousands of images and names in your head you just look up the shape and the Coral Finder gives you a simple matrix of best bets to choose from. Simple – just the way we like it. The Coral Finder creates a choice matrix for easy, at-a-glance decision making.

Materials: underwater book.

Coral Watch Protocol

CoralWatch is a citizen science project based at The University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. CoralWatch helps non-scientists around the globe understand and support effective reef management by using engaging tools that provide people with accessible information and hands-on-experience collecting scientific data about the health of corals using the Coral Health Chart. This chart standardises changes in coral colours and provides a simple way for people to quantify coral health and contribute to the CoralWatch global database. The Coral Health Chart is used by dive centres, scientists, school groups, and tourists.

Materials: an underwater kit with Coral Health Chart and data board.

More info: http://www.coralwatch.org

Course fee and accomodation

Course fee: CHF 350.00

Includes:
- Reef Check Italia membership
- lectures
- teaching materials
- Reef Check Tropical EcoDiver certificate

Half board accommodation: CHF 1'160.00

Includes:
- 8 days full board accommodation in double Bungalow ( Mango)
- 8 boat dives
- 2 jetty dives
- 1 jetty night dive
- House reef & mangrove snorkelling
- Local transfer from/to Nosy Be airport airport

Total : CHF 1'460.00

Equipment rental has to be arrange in advance with the Sakatia Lodge resort and can be paid on site. Soft drinks/beers, additional excursions, dive equipment rental and any extras are not included and can be paid on site.

Who can participate?

Participation in the course is open to anyone who is passionate about coral reefs and has a minimum of diving experience and marine life knowledge.

Although it is not required any scientific qualification, participants should be confident with the main groups of marine invertebrates and possibly have some experience in tropical dives. All participants must hold at least a 2nd level international dive certificate (allowing diving to 30 m depth), a minimum of documented 30 dives, a medical certificate allowing to safely dive (written in English, Italian or Bahasa Indonesia) and international dive insurance (e.g., DAN, DiveAssure, AquaMed). Each participant should carry his/her full diving equipment, except scuba tanks and weights, provided on-site. Equipment rental has to be arrange in advance with the Sakatia Lodge resort.

The number of participants is limited to 12, including 6 scholarship beneficiaries!