ARC Reefs

Aside from diving, a decent amount of my day is spent working on a few of the many projects here at TRACC, the main one being the Artificial Reef Crest. With the destruction of a lot of the natural reef here, TRACC works to find solutions to repair and rebuild what remains and hopefully promote future growth on these existing reefs. To do this, we do ARC reef builds a few times a week, which consists of mixing sand, cement, water, coral fragments, and rock to create cinderblocks, which are planted in the water to provide a foundation for new coral to grow on. With the sea in this area containing a slope that makes it difficult for coral to grow on, the aim of these blocks are to provide a sturdy base for new coral to grow on top of and remain stable over time.

In addition to building and planting these blocks, we are also sent on work dives throughout the week to clean the existing ARC reefs, assist with coral transplants, and maintain the coral nurseries.

The hope is that this work helps to rebuild the coral population in the area, which will in turn attract marine life and promote the growth of that as well. Coral reefs occupy just 0.1% of the seabed, yet they provide for 25% of all marine life (Mulhall, 2009), so their maintenance and growth is critical. Though we are just a small group of people off the coast of a tiny island, even the smallest amount of change can make a difference. In 2018 alone at TRACC, divers spent a total of 138 hours underwater, increased the stable substrate by 48.72m, protected 13% of the reef crest, and planted 245 coral fragments, which lead to increases in both fish and invertebrate populations. Not too shabby 🐡

Video credit to @melle.elle