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Reefs around the globe are threatened by human activities, and many scientists feel that much of the world’s reefs could be lost in the next 100 years. Like many parts of the world, the economy on Koh Tao is reliant upon our natural reef areas and the visitors they bring.
With these two facts in mind, Marine Conservation Koh Tao has made a goal of researching and constructing coral nurseries around the island. It is hoped that these nurseries can help to increase the reef area around Koh Tao and provide a means of restoring damaged areas faster than would naturally occur. Currently, divers on Koh Tao have begun constructing small coral nurseries to test the feasibility of different methods. So far we have tested built 3 different structures, and have been experiencing success with all three.
After a few months trial period, we will be evaluating the price and performance of each method before making coral nurseries more widespread around the island. In the future, we would like to see a coral nursery near each dive site, and a few in places that currently are not being dived.
This way, when boat anchors or SCUBA divers break corals, those fragments can be quickly brought to a secure growing area until they become large enough to transplant back onto the dive site. These sites also serve as habitats for fish and a variety of other marine organisms, helping to maintain the reef abundance and biodiversity around Koh Tao.
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