Having completed four legs of the Quiksilver Crossing, preliminary results of our Reef Check program are surprisingly positive.

While we can not generalise about all reefs in these areas, of those we surveyed, there is no evidence of pollution and very minor bleaching.

Coral Bleaching was a serious problem in the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific last year (97 - 98). The most serious problems on the reefs now appear to be heavy fishing pressure and in some areas, over fishing for certain species such as giant clams and sea cucumber.

Our surveys are only one of dozens of other United Nations Reef Check programs and by the end of this year our data will contribute to a UN World State Of The Reefs Report.

This information will be made available to those local communities we have visited to help them become better stewards of their resources. In the process, our eco-surfing might be better appreciated as an economic alternative to extractive fishing.

Finally, we have raised the awareness of the surfing community to the need to conserve coral reef resources. In one sense the Quiksilver Crossing is an expedition of rediscovery following on a small scale, in the Indies Trader, the huge footprints of the great English naturalists Charles Darwin, and perhaps the early Polynesians.