Cousin Island is a protected area designated as a “Special Reserve.” Its protection extends to the ocean area 400 meters off the shore, where a vibrant marine community thrives. Whether you’re snorkelling, free diving, or scuba diving, you are likely to encounter some fascinating marine life.
Even a quick dip in the lagoon with an underwater camera reveals marvellous sea life. One of the favourite things to do among the Reserve’s turtle team carrying out Hawksbill turtle monitoring is to follow hatchlings as they race to the ocean and film them as they make their maiden journey home. Without fail, they will also catch a school of vibrant fish going by or an intrepid eel chasing prey up to the shore. During the nesting season, they will also observe many turtles gliding by or pairs mating near the beach.
The MPA is home to rich marine life (Lemon Shark - Chris Tagg)
“Other times, you could be sitting on the veranda enjoying some quiet time, or you’d be on the boat heading to Praslin, and someone will yell, “dolphins!” which is usually followed by a scramble for cameras and binoculars,” says Eric Blais, the island’s coordinator of the exciting sea life. “If I were to tick off a list, I would say seeing a barracuda while diving was the most memorable sighting for me, but I have also encountered reef sharks, manta rays, and mating octopuses!”
A marine monitoring program has been assessing sites around the island to compile fish population data, evaluate the distribution of invertebrates, and determine levels of coral recruitment and reef recovery. It reveals that the reef fish community on Cousin is diverse with hundreds of species recorded, and seems to be largely undamaged, even after the coral bleaching.
Hawksbill turtle (Reef Rescuers)
The Reef Rescuers carry out coral restoration activities and scuba dive almost daily here. They spot both the big communities like sharks, and also the more secretive and tiny residents such as nudibranchs.
As many of our readers know, there has been extensive loss of corals in Cousin Island as a result of coral bleaching. So, the sight of vibrant corals is always a happy one. As the team widely uses photography for coral identification, they have a treasure trove of pictures of various coral species.
Coral colonies come in many shapes, sizes, and colours. Some look like trees with bare branches, while others resemble mushrooms or giant human brains. The shape of coral depends on the species and its environment. Some corals also have attractive patterns.
Acropora sp (Reef Rescuers)
Acropora is a large genus of branching corals and is the most commonly found species. It is used for the coral reef restoration project. Given the right conditions, Acropora corals can grow quickly. Many small reef fishes live and feed in Acropora colonies. Species of Pocillopora, which are branching corals with rounded or flattened branches, are also commonly found and used for restoration. There are also species of soft corals such as sea fans, sea whips, and sea rods. These are soft and bendable and look like plants.
Coral reefs provide a habitat and hidey-holes for many marine species. The Reef Rescuers photograph the species they spot including sharks, manta rays, eels, turtles, octopuses, and tiny creatures such as seahorses, nudibranchs, crabs, starfish, squids, clams, oysters, and snails.