Project Manaia

Sea Nomad at Anchor in Boulder Bay With the End of the Season right in front of us there is one last showdown coming out here on Boulder Island in the Mergui Archipelago. The Owner of "Boulder Bay Eco Resort" along aith 30 friends and employees is coming out here for 4 days and a big meeting amongst all the higher ranks of his endeavour. For us (Project Manaia) this could be the time when things are decided for the next Seasons to come. With bureaucracy in Myanmar being rather painful and difficult to deal with (and more expensive than most other places in the world) it is somewhat questionable if Sea Nomad will be able to sail Myanmar waters again any time soon. Also because our 2 year Permit for Mergui will be expired by the beginning of the next Season. We are already looking into Projects in the Philippines to Pursue ones Sea Nomad had her earned Rest back in Phuket and another little makeover befor heading past Sinagpore and on to the Philippines. Reef Restauration would...

With Cruise ships ramming entire reefs these days (recently happened with a UK Cruiseship destroying one of the most pristine Coral Reefs in Indonesia) the question came up what the biggest threats to Coral Reefs are. And of course there is unfortunately more than just one: Ocean acidification, global warming, cruise ships, anchors, Dynamite fishing, bottom trawling, Nutrient input from land, loose sediment being washed in from shore and the list goes on and on. With so many threats lined up it is a matter of time before reefs get on a declining path and as a matter of fact they have been on it for about 50 years. Ever since the industriel revolution kicked in, Reefs got knocked out. Due to malpractices at sea but also changing climates. One of the biggest issues in the early stages were bottom trawlers, simply wiping out entire reefs in one single pass. Nowadays we are facing more "sophisticated" problems that are also manmade but more of an indirect impact. With rising temp...