Coral Project Update: Expedition Akumal

Since we last reported this summer on Expedition Akumal, the underwater gardening is doing very well. In October the coral cuttings were started, and now 60 corals have been planted.  Of these, six have been successfully harvested and “fused” to the reef, that is, attached to living coral. Please join their Facebook Page where you can sign up for the newsletter and see videos of their work.

Below is an excerpt from their first newsletter:

“Since we began our out-planting trials in late October, the coral transplanting has really taken off, with a total of sixty one colonies currently planted on two reefs. What is really remarkable is that in only three months, six of these colonies have already fused onto the reef. Fusion is when the coral has successfully attached to the live substrate. This means that as coral gardeners, our job is done; our nursery grown coral is successfully back in the wild and growing without the need for any more maintenance or intervention from our team. Now we just need to regularly monitor our out-plants for predation, disease, and algal overgrowth. We are pleased to say that we have had only 2% mortality to date. We are very excited about the success of our out-planting! When we take our corals from the nursery to the reef to be planted, it’s like sending a grown up child out into the world. After months of caring and watching them grow it is now time to go to the wild reef.”

This is a wonderful project for Akumal Bay and we are so lucky to have Jenny Mallon and her team of volunteer gardeners. The team shares their commitment with this statement: “When we take our corals from the nursery to the reef to be planted, it’s like sending a grown up child out into the world.  After months of caring and watching them grow it is now time to go to the wild reef.”

Expedition Akumal is a charitable organization that represents a partnership between the Centro Ecológico Akumal (CEA) and local Akumal businesses to create an infrastructure that will restore healthy coral growth and protect the Mesoamerican coastal reef ecosystems in Akumal, Mexico. Your donations are appreciated.