Identification_Information:
  Citation:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator:
        primary report author:
        Kevin Foster
        U.S. Department of the Interior
        Fish and Wildlife Service
        Pacific Islands Ecoregion
      Originator:
        co-author:
        Alan Everson
        U.S. Department of Commerce
        National Marine Fisheries Service
        Pacific Islands Area Office
        Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

         
      Publication_Date: 200112
      Title: 
        Biological Assessment of Marine Resources for the Republic of 
        the Maldives, Indian Ocean, August, 2001
      Series_Information:
        Series_Name: None
        Issue_Identification: None
      Publication_Information:
        Publication_Place: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
        Publisher: Department of Interior, USA
  Description:
    Abstract:
      In August 2001, biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
      and the National Marine Fisheries Service were asked to conduct an 
      assessment of the national government's capability to respond to major
      threats (e.g. anthropogenic and natural) to the marine habitat of the 
      Republic of the Maldives.  A marine survey was conducted at selected 
      locations to assess impacts to the marine environment.  Biologists 
      documented reef fishes, corals, other macroinvertebrates, and algae, 
      and provided general descriptions of the benthic community at each of
      four primary survey sites.
    Purpose:
      The purpose for this assessment is to assist the Maldivian government 
      plan for environmental disasters.  Pre-planning for environmental
      disasters could help the government avoid or reduce potential negative 
      impacts to marine biological resources. Minimizing the risk of impacts 
      directly benefits the Maldivian people who rely upon marine resources 
      for daily subsistence and economic purposes. 
    Supplemental_Information:
      NOAASupplemental:
      Entry_ID: Unknown
      Sensor_Name: SCUBA, visual census
      Sensor_Name: Hand-held GPS
      Source_Name: manual
      Project_Campaign: US Army
      Originating_Center: US Fish and Wildlife Service
      Storage_Medium: ASCII, MS Word, WordPerfect 8
      Online_size: 5.1 megabytes
  Time_Period_of_Content:
    Time_Period_Information:
      Range_of_Dates/Times:
        Beginning_Date: 20020822
        Beginning_Time: 0800
        Ending_Date: 20020829
        Ending_Time: 1700
    Currentness_Reference: Ground Condition
  Status:
    Progress: Complete
    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: no resurveys planned
  Spatial_Domain:
    Bounding_Coordinates:
      West_Bounding_Coordinate: 073.43911
      East_Bounding_Coordinate: 073.54487
      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 04.25539
      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 04.11783
  Keywords:
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Theme_Keyword: Biological survey
      Theme_Keyword: Coral species
      Theme_Keyword: reef fish species
      Theme_Keyword: macro-invertebrate species
      Theme_Keyword: algae species
      Theme_Keyword: benthic habitat
      Theme_Keyword: coastal studies
      Theme_Keyword: coral reef
    Place:
      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Place_Keyword: Maldives
      Place_Keyword: North Male Atoll 
      Place_Keyword: South Male Atoll
      Place_Keyword: Indian Ocean
    Stratum:
      Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Stratum_Keyword: benthic
  Access_Constraints: None
  Use_Constraints: Dataset credit required
  Point_of_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Person_Primary:
        Contact_Person: Kevin Foster
        Contact_Organization:
          U.S. Department of the Interior
          Fish and Wildlife Service
          Pacific Islands Ecoregion
      Contact_Position: Biologist
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: physical and mailing
        Address: 300 Ala Moana Blvd
        Address: RM 3-122
        City: Honolulu
        State_or_Province: Hawaii
        Postal_Code: 96850
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: (808)541-3441
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Kevin_Foster@mail.fws.gov
  Data_Set_Credit:
    Colonel John Sanford
    U.S. Department of the Army
    Fort Shafter
    Honolulu, Hawaii
  Native_Data_Set_Environment: Corel WordPerfect 8 Document, MS Word
Data_Quality_Information:
  Logical_Consistency_Report: see Methodology
  Completeness_Report: the survey was 100% completed
  Lineage:
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description:
        Marine surveys were conducted between the hours of 0900 and 1500, 
        using a Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) technique.  Surveys were 
        made by traversing or swimming over the reef in a meandering fashion 
        with a minimum amount of backtracking.  Marine species and habitats 
        were surveyed at lagoon reef slopes and pinnacles by diving
        with scuba from a boat.  The Maldivian Coast Guard provided a 35 
        foot speed boat to support dive operations.  We were accompanied by 
        Coast Guard divers Corporal Yoosuf Nishar and Lance Corporal Mohamed 
        Hamdan during each dive.

        The presence of corals, other invertebrates, algae, and reef fishes 
        were recorded.  Emphasis was given to identifying conspicuous, diurnally 
        active species.  As a result, small, cryptic, and nocturnally active 
        species are underrepresented in the data.  Qualitative descriptions 
        of the benthic habitat are provided for each survey station.
         
        The survey team responsible for the investigation included Service 
        biologist Kevin Foster (corals, macroinvertebrates and algae) and 
        NMFS biologist Alan Everson (reef fish).  Several species of coral were
        identified by Mr. William Allison, Coral Reef Ecologist, Coral Reef 
        Ecology and Management, Rangas, First Floor, Violet Magu, Henveyru, 
        Male, Maldives, and we are grateful for his assistance.
      Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation:
        Ahmed Jameel, Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and the Environment. 
          Personal Communication. August, 2001

        Alasdair, A. J. and A. D. Shepherd. 1992.  Environmental Implications 
          of Aquarium-fish Collection in the Maldives, with Proposals for Regulation.  
          Env. Cons., Vol 19, No 1.

        Allison, W. R.  1996. Snorkeler  Damage to Reefs Coral in the Maldive 
          Islands.  Coral Reefs  15:215- 218.

        Ash, J. S. and A. Shafeeg. 1994. Birds of the Maldive Islands, Indian 
          Ocean. FORKTAIL 10 (1994): pg. 3 - 32.

        Brown, B., A.D. Shepherd, I. Weir, and A. Edwards. 1990. Effects of 
          degradation of the environment on local reef fisheries in the Maldives.  
          Final Report to the Overseas Development    Administration. pp 22.

        Campbell, J.R. 1993. Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in the 
          Republic of the Maldives.  Prepared for the Asian Development Bank and 
          Ministry of Planning and Environment, Republic of the Maldives.  
          Hatfield Consultants Limited Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 
          T.A. No. 1601- MLD.

        Clarke, S. and A. J. Edwards.  1999. An Evaluation of artificial Reef 
          Structures as Tools for Marine Rehabilitation in the Maldives.  Aquatic 
          Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 9:5-21.

        Clarke, S. and A. J. Edwards.  1995. Coral Transplantation as an Aid to 
          Reef Rehabilitation: Evaluation of a Case Study in the Maldives.  Coral 
          Reefs 14:201-213.

        Clarke, S. and A. J. Edwards.  1994. Use of Artificial Reef Structures 
          to Rehabilitate Reef Flats      Degraded by Coral Mining in the Maldives.  
          Bull. of  Mar. Sci., 55(2-3):724-744.

        Coleman, N.  2000. Marine Life of the Maldives.  Published by Atoll 
          Editions, Victoria, Australia.  pp 328. ISBN 1876410361.

        Danish Hydraulic Institute. 1989. "Male Waste Disposal Study." Gitec 
          Consult GmbH.

        Debelius, H. Indian Ocean Reef Guide.  1999. Published by IKAN - 
          Unterwasserachiv.  Frankfurt, Germany.  

        Edwards, A.J. and A.D. Shepherd. 1992. Environmental Implications 
          of Aquarium-fish Collection in the Maldives, with Proposals for 
          Regulation. Environmental Conservation, Vol, 19, No. 1, Spring. The 
          Foundation for Environmental Conservation, Printed in Switzerland. p61-72.

        Godfrey, T. 1999. Malways - Maldives Island Directory. 3rd Edition. 
          Published by Atoll Editions,    Victoria, Australia. ISBN - 1876410248.

        Goreau, T. J.  1997. Damage to Maldivian Reefs From Mining, Sea Level 
          Rise, Sewage, and Global Warming: Recommendations for Coral 
          and Shore Protection.  Global Coral Reef Alliance Report June 6, 1997.

        Japan International Cooperation Agency.  1992. The Development Study on 
          The Seawall Construction Project for Male Island in the Republic of 
          Maldives - Main Report. December.

        Marine Research Centre. 2000. Marine Turtles in the Maldive Archipelago.  
          Zaha Waheed, Editor. 

        Maldives Marine Research Bulletin. Volume 4. 20 November. Ministry 
          of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources Male, Republic of Maldives. 
          ISBN: 99915-62-23-0  p. 60.

        Marine Research Centre. 1999. Maldives/GCRMN Pilot Coral Reef Monitoring 
          Study. Submitted to: Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) South 
          Asia Region.  Regional Office, Colombo.  

        Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, Republic of Maldives. Reef Research         Unit Paper 1/90.

        Ministry of Health.  1990. "Sewage and Solid Waste Treatment and Disposal
          Study.  Republic of the Maldives."  GITEC Consult GMBH - Duesseldorft,
          Federated Republic of Germany; Danish Hydraulic Institute, Horsholm,
          Denmark; Binnie and Partners, Redhill, United Kingdom.

        Ministry of Home Affairs.  1999.  Second National Environment Action Plan - 
          NEAP II.  Published by the Republic of the Maldives. Housing and 
          Environment. ISBN 99915-828-00.

        Nickerson, D. J. and M. H. Maniku. 1997.  Workshop on Integrated Reef 
          Resources Management in the Maldives.  Bay of Bengal Programme, Madras, 
          India.

        Pacific Consultants International. 1999. "The Study on Solid Waste
          Management for Male City in the Republic of Maldives." Final Report. 
          PCI & Environmental Technology Consultants Co., Ltd.  Japan 
          International Cooperation Agency (JICA).  Ministry of Construction and 
          Public Works (Male Municipality).  May, 1999.

        Pilcher, N. and Ismail, G. 2000. Sea Turtles of the Indo-Pacific -  
          Research, Management & Conservation: Proceedings of the Second 
          ASEAN Symposium and Workshop on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. 
          Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, ASEAN Academic Press LTD. London.

        Shepherd, A. D., Warwick, R. M., Clarke, K. B. and B. E. Brown.  1992. 
          An Analysis of Fishing Community Responses to Coral Mining in the 
          Maldives.  Env. Biol. of  Fishes 33:367-380. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 
          Netherlands.

        United Nations. 2000. "Report of the High Level Meeting to Approve 
          the Draft Regional Contingency Plan and the Draft Memorandum of 
          Understanding on Preparedness and Response for the South Asian Region.  
          Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 4-6, 2000."

        Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World. Mary Stafford-Smith Scientific 
          Editor and Producer. Published by the Australian Institute of Marine 
          Science, Townsville MC, Australia.  Three Volume set.
      Process_Date: Unknown
      Process_Contact:
        Contact_Information:
          Contact_Person_Primary:
            Contact_Person: Kevin Foster
            Contact_Organization:
              U.S. Department of the Interior
              Fish and Wildlife Service
              Pacific Islands Ecoregion
          Contact_Address:
            Address_Type: physical and mailing
            Address: 300 Ala Moana Blvd
            Address: RM 3-122
            City: Honolulu
            State_or_Province: Hawaii
            Postal_Code: 96850
            Country: USA
          Contact_Voice_Telephone: (808)541-3441
          Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Kevin_Foster@mail.fws.gov
Metadata_Reference_Information:
  Metadata_Date: 20020219
  Metadata_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Person_Primary:
        Contact_Person: Mr. Patrick C. Caldwell
        Contact_Organization: NOAA/NESDIS/NODC/NCDDC
      Contact_Position: Hawaii/US Pacific Liaison
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: mailing
        Address: 1000 Pope Road, MSB 316
        Address: Dept. of Oceanography
        Address: University of Hawaii at Manoa
        City: Honolulu
        State_or_Province: Hawaii
        Postal_Code: 96822
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: (808)-956-4105
      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (808) 956-2352
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: caldwell@soest.hawaii.edu
      Hours_of_Service: 8 AM to 5 PM weekdays
      Contact_Instructions: check services@nodc.noaa.gov if not available
  Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC CSDGM
  Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
