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Coral reef survey of Aitutaki, Manuae, Mitiaro, Takutea, and Atiu in the southern Cook Islands 2013
From 28 July – 9 August 2013, a research team consisting of individuals from the Office of the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Te Ipukarea Society, Oceans 5, Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative, Cook Islands National Environment Service, and local volunteers travelled aboard the vessel Plan B of the Waitt Institute to conduct a rapid marine assessment of the fore reefs of the islands of Aitutaki, Manuae, Mitiaro, Takutea, and Atiu in the southern Cook Islands –– for the purpose of assessing the health of coral reefs within the proposed Cook Islands Marine Park.
The results of this assessment showed that coral communities on the fore reefs of Manuae, Mitiaro, Takutea, and Atiu were relatively healthy with good coverage of hard corals. Indicators of healthy reefs on these islands also included the dominance and high abundance of the coral-associated fish family Pomacentrids, high cover of crustose coralline algae, and low cover of macro-algae. Coral communities were very similar on these islands in terms of species composition (except Atiu), attributed to the dominance of a few species of hard coral –– such as the platy coral Astreopora expansa on steeper reef slopes –– which thus far appear to be unique to these islands. Despite low abundance of herbivorous fish species noted, this was unlikely the result of overfishing as human population is low on these islands and fishing activities have declined overall. On the other hand, Aitutaki’s reefs showed a significant decline in coral health, particularly on the fore reef.