September 2017

Pez Maya, Mexico

Monitoring 2 sites at Punta Allen
Objective

To complete the monitoring of the 2 furthest sites we monitor in Punta Allen in just 1 day.

Summary

Logistically, monitoring Punta Allen takes some extra planning as the sites are far away from the Pez
Maya base. This year Staff and Volunteers not only did an excellent job but they monitored those 2
sites in just 1 day. This took a lot of planning incorporating the science, RDP (Recreational Dive Plan-
ner) and all the volunteers on base. Plus, with logistical efficiency the amount of fuel used to monitor
this distant site was reduced considerably.

Report

With only a few number of volunteers on base, the preparation to monitor Punta Allen began a few
weeks before, first staff had to get all volunteers up to do the monitoring so that everyone was in-
volved on this busy day. The weather was quite rough, but by predicting who would be ready to mon-
itor what, and what was needed, the Pez Maya staff started to plan the day. It was to be an early start;
everything was prepared the day before. Everything needed for the day was laid out ready for our
early start. The boats and the car were packed with all the required monitoring and safety equipment.
Once it was light, everyone set off in the convoy. The journey took about an hour and a half but the
excitement of monitoring a distant site was palpable. The entire day went without a hitch, all the
accurate logistical planning by the staff and the attention to detail in carry out this precision operation
by the volunteers all came together perfectly. Both sites were monitored for both fish and coral and
there were 26 transects recorded. They were lucky to find that a grouper spawning was happening
nearby and though none of the volunteers didnt see spawning aggregations it was nice to meet with
the local people of Punta Allen who were leaving for a day of monitoring. Monitoring the same se-
lected sites is one of the biggest and long-term objectives at Pez Maya and often the ultimate goal for
volunteers. It was great to have everyone involved and working together.

Figure 1. It was an early start but everyone was ready for the challenge.

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To prepare for this kind of logistical challenge staff had to train all volunteers up to high standards of
not only science but also diving. This is possible because Staff spend time analyzing every detail on the
daily dive training. Teaching safe ways of monitoring the underwater environment makes it possible
to achieve big goals.
The coral reef monitoring surveys the volunteers do in Pez Maya concentrates on four main groups
adult fish, juvenile fish, coral communities and point intercept. Volunteers also monitor marine mam-
mals and lionfish on these monitoring sites during dives. All of these components helps to understand
the whole reef ecosystem a little bit better and see how healthy the reef is. Especially long-term ac-
curate data sets are a great way to see how general trends and patterns develop over time.

Figure 2. There in Punta Allen the group of volunteers showing their charts.

Figure 3. Monitoring in Punta Allen

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