Djibouti National Monitoring program of the Marine and Coastal Environment

Technical Report
Dr. Mohamed Osman Awaleh©
Organic and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
Earth Science Institute
Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche de Djibouti (CERD)

Introduction
The republic of Djibouti, with a coastline length of about 372 Km lies between 10 – 13 °N and
41 – 44 °E. Among several other activities the Djibouti coastline is experiencing rapid increase
of coastal utilization for recreational purposes. This makes coastal water quality and proper
environmental management highly pressing issues. At present very little information is available
on the state of the water quality of Djibouti coastline in particular and on the Gulf of Aden in
general. Realizing the importance of this information for human health and tourism development
and consequently on the national economy, the Government of Djibouti in collaboration with the
Regional Organization for Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
(PERSGA) promoted the initiation of a continuous monitoring program of the coastal and
marine environment, aiming at establishing a national database that serves the Republic of
Djibouti and feeds in a regional database of the Red Sea and Gulf Aden. The presence of such a
database will help significantly in the scientifically based management of the coastal region.

The present technical report is a part of this program and aims at investigating the spatial and
temporal pattern of the water quality along the Djibouti coasts, ending with a baseline profile of
basic seawater characteristics on the coasts of Djibouti. The area under investigation includes
industrial effluent sites, recreational resorts, urban agglomeration, fishing ports, shipping and
industrial activities as well as coastal site away from development and a reference point five
Kilometers offshore.

Materials and Methods

Site selection
In the present study, sixteen monitoring points have been selected based on human
activity. Location of the seawater sampling point is presented in Fig. 1. These sites are identified
by global positioning system (see Table 1).
Because of the hot arid climate of Djibouti, many people use the sea for recreation and
for getting some relief from the hot weather. Therefore, the recreational areas in Djibouti-city
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such as Siesta Beach, Petit Ambado Beach, Khor Ambado Beach were selected for the National
Monitoring Program. Haramous which is an important coastal urban agglomeration has also
been selected for the monitoring program on similar grounds. A point five kilometres offshore
has been selected as a reference site. Two island beaches, Moucha and Maskali, having hotels
for the tourist visiting the area have also been selected as major tourist attraction sites. In
addition, Sable blanc and Arta beach have as well been selected for the same reason.
Wastewater as well as industrial effluent from the national slaughterhouse is discharged
without treatment to the seawater at abattoir. This has also been selected.
Doraleh port has also been selected as a monitoring suite. This is one of the two main
ports of Djibouti. It is the Djibouti port where all the goods as well as the fuel were delivered.
Thus, the Doraleh port was selected as one the monitoring point.
The Djibouti fishing port has also been selected. This is an area of major seafood
industrial activities.
Tadjourah has been chosen for the monitoring program as been a coastal city and capital
of Tadjourah District.
The Goubet site, located at the embouchure of the Gulf of Tadjourah, has been selected
because there is a motel for tourist activity.
The Djibouti General Hospital, Peltier hospital, has also been chosen as one of the
monitoring site.
The largest hotel in Djibouti-city, kempeski, and the Escale–venus have also been chosen
as seawater sampling sites.

Figure 1. Map of Djibouti littoral showing the sampling locations for the National
Monitoring Program.
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 Table 1. Sampling site identification information

Sampling site GPS location

Off shore 38P 0301479 UTM 1290671
Slaughterhouse 38P 0299267 UTM 1281046
Siesta Beach 38P 0298698 UTM 1282853
Peltier Hospital 38P 0299030 UTM 1284928
Kempesky Hotel 38P 0297970 UTM 128554
Escale – Venus 38P 0297525 UTM 1283116
Fishing Port 38P 0296151 UTM 1282985
Doraleh Port 38P 0226506 UTM 1281429
Petit Ambado Beach 38P 0288195 UTM 1282243
Khor Ambado 38P 0283805 UTM 1282372
Arta Beach 38P 0262325 UTM 1281517
Goubet 38P 0230769 UTM 1276372
Tadjourah 38P 0271425 UTM 1302899
Sable Blanc Beach 38P 0273903 UTM 1302850
Maskali Island 38P 0298287 UTM 1295241
Moucha Island 38P 0302608 UTM 1295980

Determination of seawater quality

Sampling and sample processing
Water samples for the determination of nutrients and chlorophyll a were taken in 1.5 liter
polyethylene containers, which were filled and kept on ice in an ice box. Upon return to the lab
(2-3 hrs) the sample were filtered through pre-washed Millipore membrane filters and analysis
commenced. The filters were used for the determination of chlorophyll a and the filtrate for
nutrients analysis.
Analytical techniques
Temperature and pH were measured in situ WTW pH meter. Analytical techniques for
nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate and chlorophyll a are done according to Strickland and
Parsons (1972) and following IOC Manuals and guides (1983). All reagents were of analytical
grade. Solutions are prepared in distilled-deionised water (DDW). These were stored in a
refrigerator unless mentioned otherwise. Analyses were made in duplicate.

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Results and Discussions
In this first technical report our endeavour was mainly to establish the structure of a
conceptual national monitoring program and collect data on the monitoring variables; and put
them in an accessible format that support systematic continuous archiving in a national data
base, readily available for analysis and transformation into management plans.
Seawater temperature, pH and concentration of the nutriments µM (nitrate, nitrite,
phosphate, and silicate) recorded in Djibouti monitoring points are shown in Table 2.
Seawater temperature and salinity are amongst the most important physical variable of a
water body. In addition of setting tolerance limits to most living organisms, these two variables
combined determine the density of a water body, which in turn plays a significant role in
controlling water transport both vertically and horizontally. Herein, we report only the seawater
temperature since at the time of sampling we did not a portable salinometer to record water
salinity. Thus, it is strongly recommended that a portable salinometer would be made available.
The seawater temperatures ranged between 30 – 33°C, and 27 – 28°C for April and
December respectively (Table 2). This is in accordance with the air temperatures that were
found to fluctuate between 22°C and 30°C from October to March and 30°C to 40°C from April
to September (Moussa, 2009).
The pH ranges 8.10 – 8.27 in April and 8.06 – 8.29 in December were very similar and
represented common pH ranges of seawater.
Calibration graphs for some of the analyzed variable are shown in Figure 2.
Chlorophyl a concentration rarely exceeded 0.077 µg.l-1. Nitrite concentrations did not
exceeded 0.45 µM except for the Djibouti slaughterhouse. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations
were generally higher in December than in April. Phosphate in particular recorded significantly
high concentrations reaching up to 11.40 µM at Djibouti slaughterhouse. The silicate
concentrations varied depending the sampling time and station, with the highest concentration
63.21 µM.l-1 also reported at the Sluttery site in December.

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Figure 2. Calibration graphs for some of the analyzed variable

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Table 2. 2008 parameters (Temperature (°°C), pH and Nutriments (µ
µM))

April 2008 December 2008

T pH NO3 NO2 PO4 SiO4 Chlorophyl T (°C) pH NO3 NO2 PO4 SiO4 Chlorophyl
a a
Off shore 0.00 0.05 0.13 1.60 0.0010552 0.52 0.08 0.11 2.17 0.0005896
30 8.21 27.3 8.19
Abattoir 0.04 0.25 0.88 4.34 0.0242872 14.78 1.22 11.40 63.21 0.0056
30 8.21 27 7.72
Siesta Beach 0.20 0.06 0.14 1.60 0.0014424 0.48 0.45 3.83 52.58 0.0070032
33 8.25 28 8.12
Peltier Hospital 0.02 0.06 0.39 1.71 0.0019 0.27 0.11 0.21 2.88 0.0005896
32 8.14 27.5 8.06
Kempesky Hotel 0.30 0.10 0.22 3.46 0.0014464 0.87 0.14 0.21 9.77 0.000796
32 8.12 28 8.20
Escale – Venus 0.24 0.16 0.62 14.60 0.0008448 0.91 0.20 0.17 10.80 0.0007624
33 8.27 28 8.32
Fishing Port 0.00 0.06 0.35 7.08 0.0031728 0.65 0.06 0.20 1.63 0.0016648
33 8.19 28 8.20
Doraleh Port 0.00 0.25 0.21 2.47 0.0003752 0.59 0.08 0.16 12.70 0.0022952
30 8.22 28 8.18
Petit Ambado Beach 0.01 0.06 0.19 1.60 0.003148 1.42 0.09 0.24 3.58 0.0010672
32 8.21 27.5 8.29
Khor Ambado 0.04 0.09 0.12 1.48 0.0010672 0.38 0.06 0.21 1.68 0.0022912
32 8.26 27.5 8.24
Arta Beach 0.01 0.05 0.17 6.14 0.001364 0.33 0.12 0.19 3.53 0.0011416
31 8.24 27.5 8.29
Goubet 0.00 0.05 0.22 1.95 0.0016072 - - - - -
30 8.24 - -
Tadjourah 0.00 0.08 0.18 1.95 0.0009312 0.72 0.06 0.21 3.31 0.0017392
31 8.24 27 8.24
Sable Blanc Beach 0.32 0.04 0.17 7.89 0.0007584 0.49 0.09 0.21 3.04 0.0019
30 8.23 27.3 8.27
Maskali Island 0.65 0.17 0.35 0.95 0.001368 0.57 0.17 0.26 2.28 0.0002064
31 8.10 27 8.19
Moucha Island 0.17 0.11 0.26 2.82 0.003008 1.24 0.09 0.18 5.37 0.0008824
31 8.17 27.4 8.15

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 0,700
y = 4,214x
0,600 R² = 0,998 0,350
y = 10,07x
0,500 0,300 R² = 0,997
Concentration

0,250
0,400

Concentration
0,200
0,300
0,150
0,200
0,100
0,100
0,050
0,000
0,000
0,000 0,020 0,040 0,060 0,080 0,100 0,120 0,140 0,160 0,000 0,005 0,010 0,015 0,020 0,025 0,030 0,035
Absorption Absorption

NO2 – 2009 PO4 – 2009

6,000

5,000 y = 9,301x
R² = 0,978
4,000
Concentration

3,000

2,000

1,000

0,000
0,000 0,100 0,200 0,300 0,400 0,500 0,600
Absorption

SiO2 – 2009

NO3

1,600 y = 8,0722x
1,400 R2 = 0,9965
1,200
Concentration

1,000
0,800
0,600
0,400
0,200
0,000
0,000 0,020 0,040 0,060 0,080 0,100 0,120 0,140 0,160 0,180 0,200
Abs

NO3 – 2009

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Table 3. 2009 parameters (Temperature (°°C), pH and Nutriments (µ
µM))

April 2009 December 2009

T pH NO3 NO2 PO4 SiO4 Chlorophyl T pH NO3 NO2 PO4 SiO4 Chlorophyl
a a
Off shore 0,0063216 0,1350945 1,8196956 0.000355733 0,0371178 0,292175 2,5207065 0.0013372
30 8.27 0,00700003 27.5 8.24 0,31000004
Abattoir 8.31 ; 0,431976 0,4953465 6,7864976 0.056973867 0,8864604 1,501175 16,668288 0.0167834
32 7.80 0,03999996 27.5 8.27 8,40999996
Siesta 0,5331216 0,1150805 11,5247388 0.004012 0,65502 0,70525 7,869069 0.0058244
8.22
Beach
32 8.21 1,84000002 28.5 8.20 0,6126498
Peltier 0,0611088 0,0950665 2,373516 0.000353067 0,371178 0,7102875 2,99043225 0.0007664

Hospital
31.5 8.32 0,01799997 28 8.28 0,75999997
Kempesky 0,0906096 0,3852695 2,9537088 0.001075467 0,5109156 2,82300525 0.0007624

Hotel
30.5 8.22 0,28000004 28 8.19 3,12 0,5188625
Escale – 0,9356545 5,8370912 0.001454667 0,240174 0,4080375 10,8501998 0.0034304
8.72
Venus
34 8.60 0,21 0,1538256 28 8.65 0,86999998
Fishing 0,6954865 2,2680264 0.002108267 0,0698688 0,4080375 3,50201475 0.000956

Port
31 8.29 0,02 0,031608 27.5 8.26 0,65999999
Doraleh 0,031608 0,1751225 2,549332 0.000663467 0,0917028 0,2266875 1,87425225 0.0010012

Port
29.5 8.23 0,00999998 28.5 8.25 0,63999999
Petit 0,0400368 0,2151505 4,1053036 0.000478133 0,1397376 0,2669875 1,38127275 0.0005276

Ambado
Beach
31 8.32 0,00900004 28 8.33 1,73000001
Khor 0,0400368 0,2051435 1,6175072 0.0003832 0,1703052 0,171275 2,75789475 0.000952

Ambado
30.5 8.30 0,02000003 28 8.32 0,31999999

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 beach
Arta 0,0189648 0,1250875 5,4766684 0.000381867 0,10917 0,2367625 2,21840775 0.0008468

Beach
30 8.26 0,00899996 28 8.27 0,26999996
Goubet 0,0273936 0,2151505 2,5757044 0.000637333 1,0436652 0,3576625 2,7811485 0.0005708
29 8.30 0,00800001 27.5 8.29 2,09999997
Tadjourah 0,0231792 0,1851295 2,41747 0.0004272 0,1048032 0,26195 0.0005336
30.5 8.27 0,00899998 28 8.25 0,13800002 9,20383425
Sable 0,031608 0,1551085 0,21977 0.000353067 0,0742356 0,2166125 1,95796575 0.0008056

Blanc
Beach
30.5 8.29 0,24999998 28 8.24 0,41000002
Maskali 0,0400368 0,1451015 2,1449552 0.001258133 0,1266372 0,4886375 3,38109525 0.0003588

Island
30 8.36 0,11999998 28 8.32 0,48000001
Moucha 0,1116816 0,2851995 3,384458 0.000581067 0,262008 0,4181125 4,85073225 0.0007604

Island
31 8.10 0,14999999 28 8.15 3,41000002

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 Conclusions
This Djibouti National Monitoring program of the Marine and Coastal Environment first technical
report provides monitoring data that can form a basis of sustainable monitoring programs.
In addition, this first national report aims to establish the foundation for data analysis and
archiving in a national database setting the base for future reports.
Only the surface seawater is considered herein. The depth profile that may serve as a good
indicator in the long term changes in the thermohaline structure of water column should be
made with a column water sampler. Hence, it is of great significance to make available a
column water sampler as well as field recording equipment of dissolved oxygen and salinity in
future sampling events.

The collected data shows clear differences between stations depending on the human activity.
With continuous monitoring and more data accumulating it should be possible to suggest
management measures to relief the pressure off impacted sites. The seasonal changes were also
clear and with more collected sample during different seasons a better understanding of the
ecosystem functioning will be possible, which will also help in suggesting more scientifically
based management practices.

Acknowledgments
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Djibouti Navy and Djibouti Coast Guard for
their assistance in sampling. We very highly appreciated the collaboration of the Djibouti Navy
during this campaign. We are also highly thankful to PERSGA for its support to Djibouti
National Monitoring Program and for sending Dr. Mohammed Badran, PERSGA Director,
Projects Management, Scientific Research and Development to help in the field and laboratory
work.

References
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Nutrient analysis in tropical marine
waters. Manuals and Guides, Vol. 28, UNESCO, 1993, pp 1 – 24.
Moussa Mahdi Ahmed, Msc Thesis, University Marne-La-Vallée, Paris XIII, 2009.
Strickland, J. D. H. and Parsons, T. R. A Pratical Hand Book of Sea Water Analysis. Fisheries
Research Board of Canada Bulletin 167, 2nd ed., 1972.

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