Fieldwork

Preparations for fieldwork began in November 2004. As the permission to enter the Lakshadweep islands is difficult and contacting the respective personnel on time, the survey got delayed. The fieldwork still was further delayed because of the December 26 2004 tsunami and the declared Red Alert Zone in all the islands till 31st January 2005.

Once it was determined that the diving in the surrounding waters of the Atolls could be safely conducted, some of the basic diving gadgets were hired from two of the scientific NGO’s (Institute for Environmental Research and Social Education (IERSE), Nagercoil, TamilNadu state and Centre for Applied Science (CAS), US Millennium Relief and Development Services, Thiruvananthapuram, (Kerala state) and the rest of the equipments like tanks, compressor, BCD, were fixed at the diving stations. The survey/diving was scheduled in the month of February 2005.

Eventually the suitable study areas were selected after discussing with the local divers/dive instructors and the survey could commence. Usually the diving proceeded with 2 other divers, a boat driver, the project officer (AGM) and diving buddy. The sea was calm for most of the time while some days were rough because of the wind. Visibility ranged from 10-20m and the monitoring could be carried out within 15 days despite the unusual windy weather patterns. From the local dive centres, diving assistants (non-scientists) were hired who have been trained by the Indo-Australian monitoring (GCRMN) training project in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Lakshadweep. Thus, the survey in the islands of Lakshadweep expedition was undertaken between 12th to 21st February 2005.

Click to know more:

• Project Abstract
• Oil Spillage
• Pollution
• Coral bleaching
• Highlights of the findings achieved in the project
• Detailed report of work done on the project
• Description of the study areas
• Recommendation including remedial measures
• Impacts of the work on the scientific potential of our country