Marine biotopes of Askar coastal area, east of Bahrain

The scope of the present work has covered the area located at the east coast of Bahrain along the Askar coast associated with depth mostly < 10 m, extending for approximately 5Km. This coastal area is subjected to several sources of industrial and domestic pollution. The marine survey was conducted in May 2018 within an area of ∼5.27 km² covering the intertidal and subtidal zones. A drop-down video camera (DDV) was used within an equidistant station grid spaced by 300 m and entailed 69 stations. SCUBA diving was performed at eight locations representing different biotopes for qualitative and quantitative analysis based on epi-benthic flora and fauna. Five biotopes were identified representing silty sand, silty sand with seagrass, mud, rock with sand veneer and macroalgae. A lack of conspicuous flora and fauna characterized most of the sites investigated. The seagrass habitat was found to be of less cover across the study area represented by patchy forms (<1%). The high concentration of alluvium discharged by the sand wash plant heavily impacted the water clarity, where fine particles were driven by currents during the ebb cycle toward the Askar coast. The DDV survey showed that most of the bottom layers are turbid and numerous dead bivalve shells of Pinctada sp. were observed. The current monitoring program needs to be rescheduled to cover further locations to minimize the vulnerability of traditional fisheries.