As you know, throughout the 2018 season JTP has been transplanting coral fragments back onto damaged reef areas in order to rehabilitate and help the coral reefs recover. We attached broken coral fragments to concrete blocks with metal rods to substitute natural substrate in order to improve the chances of survival for the corals.
Excited to see how the corals are doing, we set off on a dive to the rehabilitated coral reef site.. Through the surge and slightly murky water, we navigated using reference points on the reef. Appearing in front of our eyes were all the concrete blocks with most of the corals still attached and looking healthy! We immediately swam closer to throughly check on the corals and the concrete structures. The monsoon period is always the most worrying since many corals and even rocks gets dislodged.
We are happy to say that the surviving corals are all healthy and have grown significantly. The results are awesome! For the 2019 season, we plan to increase the number of fragments, species of corals and as well as the people involved!
Beto
