HAS THE GULF-WAR AFFECTED CORAL-REEFS OF THE NORTHWESTERN GULF

Surveys of offshore and nearshore reefs in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia wer e undertaken during the latter part of 1992. A small, inshore platform reef located close to one of the Kuwait sources of the Gulf War oil s pill had been partially impacted. However, corals were recovering and it supported a healthy fish community. No evidence of pollution damage was detected on the Saudi Arabian reefs, and a patchy distribution of mortality in three species of coral was found on the offshore Kuwait reefs. Analysis of long term changes in the Kuwait reef fish populatio ns reveal a downward trend in numbers. It is concluded that natural fl uctuations in the coral reef community may have effectively masked any supposed impact of the Gulf War, and suggested that only continued mo nitoring will reveal any longer term Gulf War effects.