The first SEASMART coral farm has launched in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and is looking to to grow corals for both sale into the aquarium market and to help restore local reefs. We’re big fans of the SEASMART program, a joint venture between the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority and U.S.-based EcoEZ, and were definitely excited to get this news. This is a major milestone for the program with the debut of a coral mariculture pilot program where they have selected an offshore nursery and trained a staff of 20 local women in sustainable mariculture activities helping to advance the mission of the overall program.
The pilot program set up shop at Fishermans Island near Port Moresby and the farmed coral frags are expected to be ready to reach international markets by December. SEASMART has earmarked 30% of all the corals produced to stay in PNG to help reef restoration efforts. The pilot program is overseen by the newly formed Mariculture, Aquaculture, Restoration (MAR) Division of SEASMART.
“Maricultured corals are the future of a robust and sustainable reef-keeping hobby,” says SEASMART MAR Division Manager Daniel Navin. “While aquacultured corals grown in import countries do play an important role in the marine aquarium trade, maricultured corals have the advantage of being able to bring new species and color morphs to the trade, as well as generate an income source to coastal communities where the corals are cultured.”
The location for the coral farm was selected by the MAR staff after extensive research of the area for the best conditions and access to the growing coral. The nursery is located in 4-5 meters of water close to the island and utilizes 10 custom-built iron platforms with two local coral farmers assigned to each platform or growing station. Mother colonies were sustainably collected from neighboring, healthy reefs, fragged at the farm, glued to cement discs and secured to the platforms with an iron mesh to grow in the open sea. Once these frags reach a suitable size, they are then harvested for the trade or used to help restore the local reefs.
“This places a direct financial incentive for the communities nearest the reefs to keep their reefs healthy. In addition, maricultured corals are ideal for use in local reef restoration projects,” adds Navin. “We expect to see a net gain in local coral cover as a result of our mariculture and reef restoration efforts in PNG, and that’s even after we have supplied aquarists with some of the most exciting corals they have seen in a long time.”
This is incredible progress by the program that started in 2007, showing that a sustainable business can be created around the local reefs in PNG helping to provide a stable, ethical and sustainable economy for the locals while preserving and restoring the local reefs. Hopefully the pilot program will be a success and lead to more coral farms in PNG and neighboring areas in the coral triangle. We can’t wait to get a glimpse of some of the gorgeous and unusual specimens from this project and will be proud to have a PNG-farmed coral as a centerpiece in any of our displays. Enjoy the images from the mariculture program along with the official press release.
FIRST PNG CORAL MARICULTURE PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED
PNG Maricultured Corals to Hit Markets and Local Reefs by December
1 September 2010 – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) – The PNG SEASMART Program announced today the successful establishment of a pilot coral mariculture program at Fishermans Island near Port Moresby, PNG. SEASMART staff trained twenty local women from Fishermans Island in sustainable mariculture activities. The first of these maricultured corals are projected to reach international markets by December 2010, although 30% of all corals produced will stay in PNG and be used for reef restoration activities. The pilot program is overseen by the newly formed Mariculture, Aquaculture, Restoration (MAR) Division of SEASMART.
Unlike aquacultured corals that are grown in a closed system such as an aquarium, maricultured corals are grown in open, ocean-based farms. The Fishermans Island coral farm is located in four to five meters of water adjacent to the island in a location selected by MAR staff after extensive survey work. At the farm site, MAR staff deployed 10 custom-built iron platforms and assigned two local coral farmers to each platform. Mother colonies were sustainably collected from nearby healthy reefs and brought to the coral farm, where the farmers fragmented the mother colonies into as many as 10 individual colonies or “frags.” These frags were then affixed to numbered cement discs and affixed to the platforms with wire mesh. When the frags reach an appropriate size, they can be sold, sold or used to restore coral cover on degraded reefs.
“Maricultured corals are the future of a robust and sustainable reef-keeping hobby,” says SEASMART MAR Division Manager Daniel Navin. “While aquacultured corals grown in import countries do play an important role in the marine aquarium trade, maricultured corals have the advantage of being able to bring new species and color morphs to the trade, as well as generate an income source to coastal communities where the corals are cultured. This places a direct financial incentive for the communities nearest the reefs to keep their reefs healthy. In addition, maricultured corals are ideal for use in local reef restoration projects. We expect to see a net gain in local coral cover as a result of our mariculture and reef restoration efforts in PNG, and that’s even after we have supplied aquarists with some of the most exciting corals they have seen in a long time.”
The SEASMART Program is a joint venture between the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority and U.S.-based EcoEZ. SEASMART has been working in Papua New Guinea since 2007 to establish a sustainable and equitable marine aquarium trade there.
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