As part of a continuous pledge to prioritize ocean conservation and protect the natural environment, the Marine Biologists at Sandies Bathala have initiated a Coral Garden restoration program to preserve and protect the coral reefs for the future.
Restoring coral reefs requires knowledge, planning and scale. Therefore, the Marine Biology team has established the first mid-water coral nursery on Bathala to test and, in a second step, expand coral production to repopulate the reef. This technique, known as coral gardening, is a two-step process where coral fragments are grown under ideal conditions in the nursery before they have reached a suitable size for out planting on the reef. This allows the production of thousands of new corals within a year that will have a higher chance of survival on the reef. To test and finetune the process, the biologists are closely monitoring the progress of corals growing on “Bathalantis”.
The coral cookie project seeks to actively engage guests by adopting and naming coral fragments. The resort repopulates shallow areas of the Bathala house reef by rescuing broken corals and attaching them to “Coral Cookies” before they are cemented to the reef together with guests. Participants receive not only a certificate and photos of the activity along with a better understanding of coral reef ecology and ways to support coral reef health.
The Sandies Bathala biologists are happy to give you a little tour of “Bathalantis” as the coral nursery can be visited by all diving and snorkelling guests. For more information, contact info.bathala@sandies-resorts.com or by contacting Marine Research Manager, Dr. Inga Dehnert at marine.research@diamonds-resorts.com.
