Coral Restoration Foundation Dive
If you're going to dive in the ocean, you should certainly know as much as you can about it. And what about the groups who are working to safeguard the gorgeous reefs you see on your dive trips? Because without the efforts of organizations like the Coral Restoration Foundation, an organization founded off the coast of Florida that attempts to enhance coral development and outplant corals onto damaged reefs. They are testing new growth methods and planning for more frequent bleaching occurrences caused by rising water temperatures. They also offer educational opportunities to local people, as well as outreach initiatives and research on coral reef resiliency.
And taking advantage of the discovery dives that the Coral Restoration Foundation team conducts once a week from the beaches of Lions Dive and Beach Resort is a terrific chance to observe the results of their work in the shape of the amazing staghorn and elkhorn coral nurseries they've built.
The coral reef foundation has erected underwater Christmas trees with coral fragments dangling from them as ornaments. These pieces, which were extracted from robust mother colonies, are now suspended in the nutrient-rich current water, where they can thrive. Their growth is accelerated because they are not competing with other coral, predators cannot reach them, and the little coral pieces spend the majority of the energy received from food on faster growth.
- Location: on the Ocean Encounters house reef at Lions Dive & Beach Resort, Curacao.
