So I ended up having a great discussion with the owner of the resort i stayed at in Beqa Island Fiji. We are going to start up a coral restoration and farming project in the lagoon out in front of the resort. The purpose will be to improve upon the 'house reef' which is the coral reef about 100 yards from the resort and the barrier reef surrounding the island We will also be creating a program to teach guests about reef restoration and how they can help. The purpose will be to create a stunning local reef that the resort, guests, and local fijians can be proud of.
First step will be the construction of the rebar tables to support the coral frags.
Next is the collection of coral specimens based upon color, form, and growth
Then there will be mounting of the frags to concrete plugs and attaching them to the table.
This will be proceeded by the growth stage which will be documented every 3 months. Along with this will come maintenance of the rebar tables and frags growing on it.
After a year the corals will be review to see if they are ready to be transplanted back onto the reef.
Also a part of the project will be rubble coral restoration. This will take broken or damaged corals laying on the sand bed and transplant them back onto the reef using an underwater epoxy to attach them.
Will have more information as things develop, but thats the basic idea behind it. This will hopefully bring in like minded individuals who will want to stay at the resort and become a part of the restoration effort. More info on this to come. We are looking at setting up a group of 10-15 people to come out with me and start the project and 'cherry pick' nice corals to go onto the racks. If you are a certified diver that's a big plus.... again more to come
You can check out the resort at Insert title here... You will see my smiling face on there holding a bunch of fish with my dad. The time frame is several months off, planning on going back Feb-Mar 2014. The resort is working on a package deal for a weeks stay. Those that are interested let me know, i think this will be a fun and educational project. Not every day you get to help out the reefs in the wild
First step will be the construction of the rebar tables to support the coral frags.
Next is the collection of coral specimens based upon color, form, and growth
Then there will be mounting of the frags to concrete plugs and attaching them to the table.
This will be proceeded by the growth stage which will be documented every 3 months. Along with this will come maintenance of the rebar tables and frags growing on it.
After a year the corals will be review to see if they are ready to be transplanted back onto the reef.
Also a part of the project will be rubble coral restoration. This will take broken or damaged corals laying on the sand bed and transplant them back onto the reef using an underwater epoxy to attach them.
Will have more information as things develop, but thats the basic idea behind it. This will hopefully bring in like minded individuals who will want to stay at the resort and become a part of the restoration effort. More info on this to come. We are looking at setting up a group of 10-15 people to come out with me and start the project and 'cherry pick' nice corals to go onto the racks. If you are a certified diver that's a big plus.... again more to come
You can check out the resort at Insert title here... You will see my smiling face on there holding a bunch of fish with my dad. The time frame is several months off, planning on going back Feb-Mar 2014. The resort is working on a package deal for a weeks stay. Those that are interested let me know, i think this will be a fun and educational project. Not every day you get to help out the reefs in the wild
