========================= Bleaching Report =========================== ************************************************************************ ************************ Bleaching in Beqa, Fiji *********************** ************************************************************************ Report from: Barbara A. Best, Ph.D U.S. Agency for International Development Date: 8 May 2002 In April 2002, Barbara A. Best and other divers found that "in Beqa Lagoon, ...the water was like bath water, and stayed at 86 F all the way down to about 50 feet." "Hardly any live corals at all left, but a few did show signs of stress." ======================================================================== Alan E. Strong NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Project NOAA/NESDIS 8 May 2002