Corals, much like the trees in our
forests, are one of the primary producers in the vast ocean. The reef is known
to be the ecosystem which has the highest biodiversity in the sea. And every
reef is different from another. Destroying the reef means des
tructing the
ecosystem of the ocean, and a variety of lives can be wiped out from Earth.
Besides acting as a habitat for a variety of marine creature, the reef also has
high research value in terms of biomedical treatments (E.g. Many reef animals
have been identified to contain anti-carcinogenic property). Losing them might
mean losing cure to fight some of the deadliest diseases prominent to human.
Coral reefs around South-East Asia
are frequently bombed by local fishermen. Bomb fishing is one of the cheapest
ways for them to get more fish. They are not aware that the activity could kill
not only fish but corals and other reef creatures as well. This is why TRACC held “Coral Planting Day” in Kudat, Sabah to
celebrate World Ocean Day. The objective of this event is to increase
awareness regarding the importance of the coral reef and the need to protect
them. We talked to the people about the reef condition in the sea at the moment,
how human activities affected corals, and what we hope to achieve by replanting
corals.
Prior to the event, bottle reefs
were made using cement and glass bottles. This is a relatively cheap way to
build a base for replanted coral fragments to grow. Coral fragments were
collected in the morning on the day of the event. These were usually large
fragments found lying on the seafloor, knocked off by boat anchor or strong
wave. During the programme, we used a clipper to cut them into smaller
fragments that can fit nicely into the holes of the biscuits, and a mixture of cement and tile adhesive to hold the
coral fragments in place. We waited until the structure became stable before
bringing them to deeper sea where the bottle reefs sat. We put the coral
biscuits on the bottle reefs, just as you can see in the pictures, with some
coral fragments tied with cable ties onto the bottles.
 Kit teaching volunteers how to cut big coral fragments into smaller pieces. |
 |
| Kit transferring hardened coral biscuits from shallow sea to the boat. |
 |
 |
 |
| Job done!! |