We departed Indonesia from Lombok, after three months of exploring its reefs and islands, cultures and people.  It took two weeks to sail to Tioman, Malaysia, consistently moving in the right direction with glorious monsoon winds.  We toasted the rising full moon rising, the sun's passage overhead at solstice, studied the stars, navigated by sextant and appreciated the seas and winds once more. It was our last long voyage on Infinity, so we knew that this was our time to say goodbye.

Tioman has been a significant point on our route over the years.  In 2001, we studied the reef around Renggis Island, a small rock outcrop on Tioman's south west side.  We returned here in 2006 after we departed Singapore, to check on the state of Renggis reef and to complete preparing for our two year expedition on Infinity.  This time, in 2008, we were making our last coral reef study for a while, completing our collection of data on the health and vitality of coral reefs throughout the world which we have carried out continuously for thirteen years. (To view these studies, click here!)

The reef at Renggis encapsulates many of the challenges faced by reefs around the world.  In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was devastated by destructive fishing methods - dynamite and cyanide fishing - which were rife throughout south east Asia at the time.  In 1994, it was gazetted as part of the Pulau Tioman Marine Park, one of many marine parks established by Malaysia in a brave effort to preserve their reefs before destruction swept them away.  When we first encountered the reef in 2001, we could see that the reef was benefiting hugely from the protection afforded it by being part of a marine park, and that the organisms within it were winning a battle towards recovery.  Black tip reef sharks patrolled the southern reef as a symbol of its ability to revive.

By 2006, the struggle had continued in a very hopeful direction, with large areas of the reef covered in fields of healthy corals and a high diversity of species represented.  Like many reefs in Malaysia, the coral predator, the crown of thorns seastar, was present in reasonably high numbers but cleanups were regularly being carried out to keep the population under control.  The tell-tale white patches of freshly damaged coral tissue and skeleton showed clearly in the shallows around Renggis.  (Crown of thorns seastar amongst the coral.)

But in 2006, the more worrying threats to the reef were not happening in the water, but on the nearby shores of Tioman.  Development was in full swing, with a new marina under construction including an inland waterway for small boats, the road across the island to the more remote village of Juara being paved and, most threateningly for Renggis, major expansion of the resort opposite the small island. 

By the time we returned here this July, we found the reef to have taken a sharp nosedive into decline.  Damage from crown of thorns appears to be on the increase, with an indication that the efforts at cleanups are not as vigorous as they were.  Increased numbers of visitors to the reef are leaving their marks in broken corals which are immediately infested with algal overgrowth.  Algal growth on this reef will only intensify with the fertilizers being poured onto the 100 acres of golf course opposite it at the resort.  And the currents bring sediment from the construction of beaches, jetties, sea walls and roads straight from Tekek, the hub on Tioman, to Renggis and beyond.

The Marine Park was established with the intention of preserving the waters and reefs within two miles of nine islands, including Tioman and Renggis.  Its management authorities are clearly unable to enforce the marine park rules.  At nearby Pulau Tulai, where we spent a blissful week celebrating our accomplishments over the last two years at sea, we found fish traps in the bay filled with ornamental butterflyfish and adult groupers.  Close to Renggis, where the anchoring of boats and the running of jetskis are officially prohibited, we found both happening.  Reefballs, cement structures planted to provide substrate for new coral growth are smothered in sediment before any recruitment of new colonies can take place.  

Renggis continues to be a reef worthy of intense efforts towards preservation.  We saw the reef repay those efforts in 2001 with signs of a great recovery from previous harm.  A resurgence towards those intentions and striking a healthy balance between a drive to increase tourism to Tioman and the continued conservation of Malaysia's reefs will not only help Renggis as an ecosystem, but help to set standards for how to manage our remaining coral reefs on this planet.