Mahahual lagoon gets mapped

Last weekend, Albert Franquesa, Amigos de Sian Ka'an Marine Project's coordinator, lead a two-day field work aiming to map the underground morphology of the Mahahual lagoon. Armed with a side scan sonar and a GPS and with the help of GVI Mexico Director, Danny, 15 transects from the shore to the deep waters were mapped, recording depth every 5 meters.

The aim is to have a good idea of where all reef formations are located in order to prioritize monitoring sites.

It was also very interesting to see a huge change in the underwater formations of a well known site to GVI Mahahual, Dolphin Bay. Dolphin Bay was one of our monitoring sites when we were based at the Estacion Costa Maya in Mahahual. Since Hurricane Dean, the site has now suffered massive degradation, due to sediment and sand deposition brought by Dean. This mapping effort will show us where the remaining reefs are.

Mahahual lagoon gets mapped