Barbados created history on Tuesday by planting 50 fragments of staghorn coral from the Folkstone Marine Reserve at Carlisle Bay for the first time, as it marked World Oceans Day, under the theme: Ocean: Life and Livelihoods.
Speaking moments before boarding the Mojito vessel at the Shallow Draught, Minister Humphrey explained that the coral used was from some originally transported to the Folkstone Marine Park, where it was growing for the last three years.
The Minister further gave the assurance that the coral would be monitored over the coming weeks and months to see how it was progressing.
“Those corals became the hub for what is now called the Barbados Coral Reef Nursery Project,” he explained.
The Marine Biologist noted that for the first time there were fishermen also working with the corals, and learning how to handle it as they too wanted to help preserve the environment.
He added that there were about 150 corals planted on the island’s west coast, which started out at a size of between two and three centimetres, but had now reached two metres in size.
Fisherman Raymond Chow said he was happy to be a part of the exercise. He noted that overtime, divers to the island would be able to see a restored coral reef. “It is so touching to the heart,” he said. (JRB/BGIS)
Leave a Reply