Rapid Ecological Assessment Northern Bismarck Sea Papua New Guinea

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Marine Conservation

The Northern Bismarck Sea marine assessment was conducted in New Ireland and Manus Provinces between August 13th to September 7th, 2006. In New Ireland the survey covered the Tigak Islands, New Hanover and Djaul Island, while in Manus the survey was conducted predominantly around the main island of Manus. The survey team was comprised of international and local scientists, conservationists and Papua New Guinea fisheries’ officers. The survey provided an assessment of the biodiversity and status of corals and reef fish in the Northern Bismarck Sea, with recommendations for their conservation and management.

The survey showed that the North Bismarck Sea hosts very high hard coral species richness. A total of 452 species belonging to 70 genera in 15 families were recorded on this survey. The reefs that the team visited around Manus Island were all in good to excellent condition and tended to have higher hard coral iversity than reefs around New Ireland. Although some reefs visited in New Ireland were healthy, many were in poor condition; there were crown of thorns starfish on most reefs with significant coral mortality at some sites within the Tigak Islands.

The survey also confirmed that the Northern Bismarck Sea has a high biodiversity of reef fish. A combination of historical data and 577 new records from the current survey yields a total of 801 species belonging to 76 families and 274 genera for the Northern Bismarck Archipelago. A formula for predicting the total reef fish fauna indicates that at least 945 species can be expected to occur in this region.