Researchers in Kerala try out land-based nurseries for coral conservation

With coral colonies disconnected the Kerala seashore facing important threats successful caller years, researchers are present trying retired a antithetic maneuver to guarantee their survival. They are present experimenting with ‘land-based coral nurseries’ wherever coral taxon collected from underwater reefs disconnected Vizhinjam successful Thiruvananthapuram territory are grown successful a controlled situation connected land. The thought is that they would beryllium reintroduced into their earthy situation erstwhile they scope a definite level of growth.

The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) task is portion of the probe enactment of Arun Aloysius, a Kufos probe student and scuba diver. The land-based nurseries person been established astatine the Vizhinjam Regional Centre of the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and Kufos. This inaugural besides has peculiar support from the Kerala Forest section arsenic it involves postulation of corals, said Shyla G. of the Faculty of Fisheries astatine Kufos, who heads the project.

The coral specimens were collected from Vizhinjam by Mr. Aloysius, who is the writer of the publication Pavizhapputtukal: Kadalile Mazhakkadukal (Coral Reefs: The Rainforests of the Sea). The probe programme is based connected the conception that healthier maturation and endurance rates tin beryllium ensured by cultivating corals successful controlled environments earlier reintroducing them into the ocean, Mr. Aloysius said.

Species selected

Species belonging to the genus Pocillopora, found successful shallow waters disconnected the Vizhinjam coast, person been selected for the probe project. In the land-based nurseries, they are kept successful a temperature-controlled oversea h2o strategy mimicking their earthy marine environment, helium said.

While Kerala does not person extended coral reef formations disconnected its coast, determination inactive are important colonies, particularly disconnected the confederate districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. “The worth of this programme lies successful the information that it besides lays a beardown technological instauration for large-scale restoration efforts,” Dr. Shyla said. According to her, the program is to reintroduce the corals into their earthy habitats aft a four-month period.

Kufos Vice-Chancellor A. Biju Kumar said that the occurrence of this probe programme tin assistance grow coral reef sum on the coast, amended marine habitats, and lend to a sustainable summation successful fishery resources.