We are monitoring the presence of Crown of Thorne (COT) around the Jakarta Bay, especially within the vicinity of Pulau Pramuka and Pulau Semak Daun.

In the past three months we observed that the number of COTs has been increasing quite significantly. In February 2011, at our observation block of Karang Lebar, northwest of Pulau Semak Daun, there were three (3) COTs inside a 100-square meter of reef. By April, this number increased to six (6) COTs at the same spot.

We will continue our monitoring for another two (2) months before we make a decision to make action of removing the COTs from the reef.

COT is a known direct contributor to coral bleaching. This is due to the disappearance of COTs predator such as the Titan Triggerfish.