Acropora palmata discussions/coral nursery

[Fabrice POIRAUD-LAMBERT]

Hi,

Reef Relief Document and Initiative is really interesting according to me,
and I think it should be extended to Maldives and other heavily damaged
reefs : I'm just coming back from Maldives, and it's really incredible =>
95% of coral coverage as been killed and SPS / LPS corals have deseappered
totally in most reefs !

Many colonies has been broken and turned up side down (it happened that I
returned 4 still alive Tabular Acropora in less than 10 minutes), and many
frags are lying in the sand, dying.

SPS and LPS are now very rare in many Maldives Reefs, and I  strongly feel
that Local Professional Divers and volonteers could help in returning
Colonies and  using fragments to re-colonize bleached reefs, If it's not
too late.

Rgds
Fabrice POIRAUD-LAMBERT


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>Reef Relief has released the first year report on the Coral Nursery
>Project at Western Sambo Reef in the Florida Keys.  The report outlines
>the efforts to stabilize loose fragments of Acropora plamata onto
>"Acropora rosettes", a design by restoration biologist Harold Hudson, in
>this cooperative project with the Florida Keys National Marine
>Sanctuary.  Storm-damaged fragments of Acropora palmata were secured
>with hydraulic cement onto concrete landscaping pads.
>
>The effort was launched to save Acropora palmata that was becoming
>increasingly rare in Keys waters after substantial damage to populations
>at Western Sambo Reef as a result of the Ground Hog Day Storm of
>February 1998.
>
>The rosettes were not cemented down at first because the plan was to
>move them to a boat grounding site.  As a result, they were damaged
>during Hurricane Georges but quickly re-established by a Reef Relief
>team led by Craig Quirolo.  This time, they were cemented to the ocean
>floor and survived through Tropical Storm Mitch.  Unfortunately,
>Acropora palmata colonies at Western Sambo, Rock Key and other Keys
>reefs suffered substantial losses as a result of these successive
>storms.
>
>REEF RELIEF recommends and encourages the inclusion of all corals in the
>Acropora genus found in the Caribbean Basin for further protection,
>including listing through the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The health
>and abundance of Palmata colonies we have photo-documented in Cuba,
>Jamaica, and Honduras are being compromised as well.
>
>For a copy of the 70-page color report, contact Reef Relief by e-mail,
>telephone (305) 294-3100, fax (305) 293-9515, or write P.O. Box 430, Key
>West, Fl. 33041.
>
>The report is available on our website, located at www.reefrelief.org.