In Pictures: Volunteer divers guard Oman’s ‘unique’ coral reefs

In Pictures: Volunteer divers guard Oman’s ‘unique’ coral reefs

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Daymaniyat Islands, Oman: On a sailing boat anchored off Oman's pristine Daymaniyat Islands, volunteer divers pull on wetsuits, check their scuba tanks and then take turns plunging into the clear turquoise water.

Image Credit: AFP

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They are diving for a reason: to remove the massive fishing nets damaging an unusually resilient coral reef system that is seen as more likely than most to survive rising sea temperatures.

Image Credit: AFP

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The clean-up is one example of how divers and Omani authorities are joining forces to protect the reefs - which are critical for marine wildlife - from man-made damage.

Image Credit: AFP

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A volunteer diver shows fishing nets removed from coral reefs at Oman's Dimaniyat islands.

Image Credit: AFP

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Most shallow-water corals, battered and bleached white by repeated marine heatwaves, are "unlikely to last the century", the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said last year.

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Volunteers take part in a campaign to remove fishing nets from coral reefs at Oman's Dimaniyat islands.

Image Credit: AFP

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Oman's relatively cooler waters provide a rare refuge for its reefs, which are among the least studied in the world.

Image Credit: AFP

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Global warming, as well as dynamite fishing