Coral reefs make up the most complex marine ecosystem on earth, essential to literally millions of plant and animal species. Over the past decade, diseases, storms, coral predators, high water temperatures, and a multitude of direct and indirect human activities have damaged coral reefs in Savusavu Bay. If the broken off coral fragments fall on unstable substrate such as sand or silt, the survival rate is low compared to falling on a stable sold substrate. These latter fragments can naturally clone to become larger colonies.

So SCF is funding Cousteau Resort’s Marine Biologist to develop a pilot coral garden plot, with a total of 90 fragments already in place. Storm generated, finger length coral fragments are placed on plugs made with non-toxic concrete and temporary plastic paper cups that will act as a mold. This is more sustainable method compared to breaking coral fragments from parent colony. Once firmly attached to the plugs, they will be deployed on a mesh grid at a depth of 5m and monitored over time for survival and growth rate. When the fragments reach an acceptable cubical growth the plugs can be placed in suitable parts of the reef.