EAD plants over 4 million coral fragments

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), has directed the expansion of the scope of the agency’s coral rehabilitation project to outplant more than four million coral colonies in the emirate’s waters by 2030.

This will cover an area estimated to be more than 900 hectares, making it the largest coral rehabilitation project in the world.

EAD’s coral rehabilitation project had successfully reached the target of one million colonies whereby restoration took place in eight different sites, covering over 300 hectares.

This has led to an increase in Abu Dhabi’s coral coverage as the restored coral areas have seen over 95 per cent success rate. The restored sites are already showing signs of recovery, as life is starting to form around them, with more than 50 percent increase in fish biomass and diversity.

Furthermore, exceptionally and atypical of corals, those in the nursery and across restored areas continued to grow even during the summer, which indicates their ability and high resistance to withstand severe climatic conditions.

The scope of the coral restoration project included the development of coral nurseries that help mitigate the adverse impact of both natural and anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs arising from coastal development and climate change, including the immediate threat of rising seawater temperatures.

The first phase of the project included an evaluation, which highlighted resilient reefs and potential donor sites, and identified nursery sites to ensure a protected growth environment. This is based on different criteria such as water quality, currents, depth, and temperature.

This was followed by the establishment of several underwater nurseries to nurture and grow corals collected from suitable reefs, with a production capacity of up to one million coral colonies.

In the second phase, the nursery stock was harvested and transported to various sites for rehabilitation and to restore the integrated coral ecosystem. The third phase includes the completion of nursery stock harvesting and site restoration through coral translocation to degraded areas.

Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of EAD, said, “Following the successful outcomes of the coral restoration project so far, with us planting one million coral colonies, the EAD bi is now even more committed to continuing and expanding the Coral Restoration Programme.

WAM