Have you ever heard about coral transplantation? It is transplantation of coral colonies or fragments, whether from aqua-, mariculture or harvesting from a healthy colony. It has been the most frequently recommended action for increasing coral abundance on damaged or degraded reefs and for conserving listed or "at-risk" species.

The importance of corals and coral reefs are (1) they absorb carbon dioxide in sea and thereby they control sea acidity as well as reduce green house gas. (2) Reefs shelter land from harsh ocean storms. (3) The coral reefs act as habitat and provide food for many marine organisms, such as fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, etc. Thus they are vital for marine ecosystem and biodiversity.

Coral reef degradation in Indonesia has been widely reported for the last two decades. Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are very sensitive to water temperature. They face numerous threats from climate change, oceanic acidification, blast fishing, cyanide fishing for aquarium fish, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices, including urban and agricultural runoff and water pollution, which can harm reefs by encouraging excess algal growth.

Since the recovery rate is usually low, various methods of restoration have been explored in different regions of the world. Among the effective and commonly used methods to restore coral communities is the transplantation of coral colonies or fragments. Once coral colonies are formed, they can be fragmented again to generate more corals or can be transplanted to a suitable site.

How does coral transplantation work? Coral fragments are transplanted to a protected site and "grown out" to a certain size before being used for rehabilitation and for creating new fragments. The source of fragments must be chosen with care, to avoid damage to other reefs.  For a successful coral transplantation, selection of proper area to be used for transplantation is necessary (Okubo et al. 2005). Also studies have shown significant effects of environmental factors (e.g. light, temperature, sedimentation and water movement) on growth and / or survival of coral transplants (Palomar et al. 2009). Choice of a particular habitat for coral transplantation is therefore a critical aspect of coral transplantation.

I have involved in coral transplantation in Bali and it was amazing experience. You can create such a beautiful coral garden and after several months, fishes will come to this site seeking for a food around the newly transplanted corals. Recently, coral garden as the result of this transplantation has attracted divers and snorkelers due to its beauty.

Source:

Okamoto M, Roeroe KA, Yap M, Lalamentic LT, Fujiwara S, Oyamada K. 2012. Experimental transplantation of corals using sexual reproduction in Manado, Indonesia. Proc. 12th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Cairns, Australia, 9-13 July (2012). 20A Restoration of coral reefs.

Okubo N, Taniguchi H, Motokawa T. 2005. Successful methods for transplanting fragments of Acropora formosa and Acropora hyacinthus. Coral Reefs 24: 333-342.

Palomar MJS, Yap HT, Gomez, ED. 2009. Coral transplant survival over 3 years under different environmental conditions at the Hundred Islands, Philippines. Philipp Agric Sci 92: 143-152.