Red Sea-Reef Status

[Yusef Fadlalla]

A one page report on the status of coral reef surveys on the Red Sea
coast of Saudi Arabia is posted at:

               http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/bulls/red-sea.html.

Fringing coastal and offshore reefs in Rabigh (22°N, central Red Sea)
were devastated by recent bleaching and subsequent mortality of soft
and hard corals during the summer and fall of 1998.

In the south, at Jizan (16°N) where nearshore coastal areas are
dominated by mudflats and mangroves, intensive trawling and
fishing activities in recent years, apparently have resutled in
catastrophic destruction of offshore reef corals.

Yusef Fadlallah
Center for Environment and Water
KFUPM
Dhahran, 31261
Saudi Arabia






Offshore reefs in the south were apparently destroyed by intensive
trawling activities in recent years. The nearshore coastline in the south
is dominated by mudflats and mangroves.
Surveys in both locations covered 50-75 km of latitude distance.



Yusef Fadlallah
Center for Environment and Water
Research Institute - King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia