Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration
Take a dive underwater and discover the Seychelles’ amazing coral reefs and wildlife. Catch a glimpse of the troubles these ecosystems are facing and what is done to save them.
Global warming and ocean acidification put a lot of pressure on coral reefs worldwide. Because of these man made stressors corals are undergoing what is called “Coral bleaching”. Here the corals expel the algae that live in symbiosis with them, colour them and provide the corals with most of their nutrition. Without the algae, the corals expose their white skeleton and are left without the important supply of nutrients they need to survive. Two major bleaching events happened in the Seychelles in 1998 and in 2016. These caused the death of up to 90% of all corals in Seychelles.
Luckily, organisations like the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles are trying to save the local reefs by monitoring the area and using the data to set up marine protected areas. However, passive protection is not enough to keep the reefs healthy and alive. With the support of local businesses, the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles has set up coral nurseries on land as well as in the ocean. Here, heat resistant coral fragments are grown so they can be transplanted back on the damaged reefs.
Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration takes you right into the beautiful marine biodiversity of the Seychelles and also shows what we will lose if we do not address global warming and other anthropogenic stressors on the marine environment.