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PRÎSM is an organisation composed of scientists, divers and photographs. It has partnered with the BORA DIVE and RESEARCH center since 2018 in order to monitor the coral reef around the Sainte-Marie island in Madagascar. PRÎSM is meant to support the GDZCOI (Management of the Indian Ocean coastal regions) driven by the GRET (Technological research and exchanges team) and the PCADDISM (deck for the collaboration of sustainable development local actors on the Sainte-Marie island). The PCADDISM answers to a local will to understand and mitigate ongoing ecosystem degradations of the territory. Part of its project is to create Marines Protected Areas (MPAs).
Located along the East coast of Madagascar, Sainte-Marie island is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and ecosystems : granitic rock coast, seagrass beds, coral islands, reef and lagoon in the southern part, fringing reef exposed on the East coast and sheltered on the West coast. These strongly linked ecosystems are home for an important biodiversity that humpback whales seem to appreciate. Indeed, this marine mammal is finding around the island a place to breed and give birth, every year, from June to September. As everywhere on the blue planet, the balance of these ecosystems and the survival of its inhabitants are threatened : global warming, erosion, overfishing, pollution … For these territories where marine resources are crucial for socio-economic, environmental, traditional and touristic issues, understanding and observing the ongoing changes is key for building future resilience abilities.
PRÎSM follows the widely used method developed by the GCRMN, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Divers were trained with this method by the MAREX organisation and carry out 4 annual surveys on 5 monitoring sites. This method monitors the health of the reef (coral abundance, biodiversity, algaes occurances …) and the fish stocks hosted by this environment (based on a selection of bioindicator species). A photo monitoring of the reef is also performed by the PRÎSM photographers in order to complete an image bank of the local fish and coral species.
The project is getting material and logistic support from the BORA DIVE and RESEARCH, and is, since 2019, funded by private funds. We are grateful to the people that are supporting the PRÎSM, its scientific purposes and posture.
