Community Coral Planting on Kalapuan

The Community Coral Team 

A bustle of activity and a flurry of hands helped to build 12 bottle reefs and 2 big turtle reefs during the Community Coral Planting day on Kalapuan Island.

Upon arrival to Kalapuan, TRACC staff and volunteers were greeted from the shores by the usual picturesque scene of blue water, green trees, and smiling faces and happy hands. As an added bonus Chief Ibno organized a pre Community Coral Day beach clean, greeting TRACC with clean beaches and a successfully collected and pile of

plastic bottles, wrappers and polystyrene.

Nat and Christine Talking Shark Fin Soup

Between reef making and lunch eating, Liam, Khairul, Nat and Christine gave a talk about the importance of coral reefs and the role of sharks in coral reef ecology. Highlighting the importance of conserving the reef and saying no to shark fin soup.

Waving a temporary goodbye to Kalapuan as the boat departed at the end of a productive day the event felt like a great success. But the works not over yet, TRACC will organize another Community Coral Planting Day in the near future to drop the completed and dried reefs.

Bottle Reef Making with Wellman and Liam

A big thanks to Mr. Yusof owner of the Kalapuan Island Resort for the use of the resort and providing a location to drop the reefs, the volunteers from TRACC and Kalapuan, the TRACC staff for the months of planning and to the GEF Small Grants Program (SGP) for providing the financial support to make the Community Coral Planting day such a success!

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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity please check out our website tracc.org or e-mail iinfo@tracc-borneo.org

For updates check out our facebook, twitter or Google +

Reef conservation would not be possible without the generous financial support from GEF/SPG for Malaysia who are helping our community activities, and coralreefcare.com who generously provide materials to build more reefs.   

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow our projects on facebook

Making lobster reefs

A lobster reef  mould filled with wet cement in ways to create
tunnels caves and crevices

The mould is filled with wet cement and tunnels are made from sand bags and cardboard tubes which will be removed when the cement is set several days later.

see making corfu reef

Taking out the tubes to create tunnels

Turtle reef making - a fish life condominium,
Creating Lobster reefs - deep water apartments
Coral growth on bottle reefs


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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.

Lobster reefs

TRACC makes several types of CORFU reefs which are larger and stronger than the ribbon reef bottle reefs.  The Turtle reefs are mostly hollow and make suitable reefs for schools of fish.  The lobster reefs are very complex internally and have lots of tunnels and passageways,  These are ideal for lobsters, crabs and octopus,

making lobster reefs

first views of lobster reefs before the coral is planted.

rescue and introduction of lobsters to Pom Pom island.

Turtle reef making - a fish life condominium,
Creating Lobster reefs - deep water apartments
Coral growth on bottle reefs



--------------------------------------------


If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.

New turtle reefs on the reef crest

The turtle and lobster reefs add to the range of reefs that TRACC builds to repair damaged reef evironments.
More info on reef construction here.

These CORFU (coral reef foundation units) are larger and stronger than the ribbon reef bottle reefs or the bottle clusters and are designed to with stand the waves in the shallowest part of the reef.  These reefs serve the same function as reef balls but they are much more suitable for community reef projects being both lighter and cheaper.  TRACC makes 2 types of CORFU reefs, Lobster reefs and turtle reefs

Turtle reefs shortly after positioning

Turtle reef making - a fish life condominium,
Creating Lobster reefs - deep water apartments
Coral growth on bottle reefs



---------------------------------------------


If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.

Coral Growth on the Bottle Reef

February 2016
Photo by Basil Bohn

Corals are the oldest animals on the ocean scene; some species have been studied to live 4,000 plus years.[1] Coral life begins as a free-swimming planula larva, who is carried by the ocean currents and drifts until it finds a suitable hard surface on which to attach. After successful attachment, if they are left undisturbed and ocean conditions are right, the coral will began to build a coral colony – secreting calcium carbonate into a wild mansion of natural architectural genius which can hold thousands of coral polyps in its rooms. In an ensuing symbiotic relationship, photosynthetic zooxanthellae algae will coat the surface of the coral colonies

Of the over 25,000 species of coral, 800 are hard coral. Slow growing and complex in their lifecycle, hard corals grow anywhere in between 5mm and 20cm a year. Out of these 800 plus species, about 250 are from the branching coral family of Acropora – a lovely family which displays their unique differences both boldly through

May 2016
Photo by Basil Bohn

bright colored tips and polyps, and subtly through slight slants of polyp bunching and pattern differences.

The TRACC ribbon reef is planted with a variety of these subtly distinctive Acropora corals.  Such as the Acropora parilis, the blue tipped and branching hard coral photographed here in February and again in early May. The growth and successful attachment is pleasantly and gratifyingly visible in the less than 3 month span of the two photos.

However, ocean lovers, divers and boat drivers beware – when trying to photograph again this week, we found our lovely coral animal in two. Saddened by the sight and the possibilities of lost life, I’ll be sure to be extra careful of the tread of my footsteps and the flap of my fins.

Growth of Acropora Coral Shown Through Overlay of Photos
Photo by Basil Bohn

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[1] May 30, 2016, http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090323/full/news.2009.185.html

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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.

Creature Feature - Mating Mandarin Fish

Photo by Basil Bohn 

Three bright and iridescent mandarin fish play ring around the rosy in the playground of the TRACC crate reef. These three apparently painted ladies gather each night in a pre-spawning mating ritual in which they display their gleaming blue and orange patterns to a potential mate. Coyly they circle between the holes and loops created by the crates and flutter their fins in a rapid and flirtatious manner.

This ritual is preformed each evening in the fading light of the setting sun. Three to five females will gather in the same place to wait for the male to arrive.  If the male arrives and is large enough to please the ladies, a pair will join together, bellies touching, dorsal fins a-fluttering, and circle upwards to release their sperm and eggs in a tango of a spawning dance.

Shy of bright light, and shy of open spaces, the crevices and holes in the crate reef, give us eager divers a perfect viewing platform. A chance to see the prettiest of fish preform the prettiest of mating rituals and view the ocean stage from the comfort of the house reef and house seats. 

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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.