Layang-Layang; where have all the fish gone?

A friend of mine, who I met in Bali, recently took these pictures during a dive trip to Layang Layang, Malaysia. Cyanide or natural behavior?

The reef looks in good shape...not typical for areas distructively fished. That being said, the absence of fishlife with such health reefs is really odd...especially for that part of the world.

got me?

Hi Shawn,

That's what I was thinking also. For hookah divers it is really difficult to fish out all fish on a reef (they can get large numbers, but not all of them). With Cyanide it is a different story, but I guess this would also have an effect on the coral. Furthermore, Layang Layang is supposed to be a marine protected area (http://www.tracc.org.my/Borneocoast/LAYANG_LAYANG/PLL_index.html)...

I am really keen to find out what happened exactly, still waiting for official explanation of my friend.

Cheers

Vincent

Just got a reply from my friend:

Yes, the situation in layang layang is rather curious. The corals are in pristine condition. The best I've ever seen anywhere but there is hardly any fish. There are no hookah divers as the island is shared with the Malaysian Navy and no one else. Perhaps the sound of jet-fighters practicing sonic booms and gun ships firing live ammunition scared them away..

Anyone who knows more about this?

Wow, no fish.

High hard coral cover often leads to lower fish biomass - so I don't necessarily think that there needs to be a explanation. Hard coral areas usually supports lots of butterflyfish - and sometimes clouds of smaller fish like chromis damsels but only when they are exposed to currents bringing plankton (maybe this area is not facing the current and maybe the clear waters of the S China Sea are not packed with much plankton anyway?

Also nobody fishes for chromis. So I just suspect that the reef naturally supports less life here.

Strangley, endless fields of hard coral perfection often support less fish life than more mixed reef environments.

Alex

I checked my pictures from Layang Layang from a few years ago and there were certainly a lot more fishes than revealed in your pictures.

well I saw a few fish in July ...

... more than I did in Sipadan for sure!

I had a great time for days playing with my 105 getting fish portraits

When I was taking these shallow wide angles I did notice the small reef fish were really skittish ... I had to be patient and quiet for the fish to all come out.

I think maybe they are more cautious because there are so many predatory fish still around, and also these reef provide so much shelter they have plent of cover.

cheers

Leander