Coral Reefs in Ambon Bay Need Sustainable Management: Insights from 40 Years of Monitoring

Ambon Bay is a part of Ambon Island located in Eastern Indonesia. The bay has an area of 124.5 km2, and consists of a shallow inner bay and a deeper outer bay. These two parts of Ambon Bay are linked by a narrow channel (0.8 km long and 0.6 km wide). In Ambon Inner Bay (AIB), the deepest water is around 42 m, while in Ambon Outer Bay (AOB), it is at least 600 m, and the channel has variation in depth, 9-13 m. Coral reef forms a key ecosystem along the coastal area of AOB and to a lesser extent in AIB. We have monitored the condition of coral since 1985 (1). We found 85 species in AOB, and 43 species in AIB. Flaviidae, Poritidae and Acroporidae were categorized as dominant coral families. The overall condition of corals in AOB was healthier than in AIB. International Coral Reef Symposium,Cairns 9-13 July 2012.