CORAL FARMING | METHOD | BUY A CORAL SAVE A REEF

CORAL GARDENS

“Coral gardening” in the context of our program, means actively caring for corals on reefs. The program trains community members and resort staff to remove overabundant coral-killing predators, to weed excessive seaweeds that are smothering corals, to dust sand kicked up by snorkeler's off of massive corals, and to replant corals broken by careless divers and storms to dead reef areas. Building fish houses or ”coral castles”, and planting corals on these structures is another coral gardening activity, and the increased numbers of fish work to improve the health of corals on the reef by controlling coral predators and seaweeds.

The foundation of healthy coral reefs is clear, clean water low in muddy silt and low in pollution, and with abundant fish and other animals that in turn keep the corals clean and free of major predator outbreaks. While coral gardening is useful on degraded reefs, helping sick corals regain some strength, the longer-term solution requires addressing the root causes of decline. Any reef- no matter how healthy, if visited by thousands of tourists annually will decline over time. Coral gardening, if actively applied to such highly-used reefs can help manage the inadvertent damage caused by this important economic activity.