The Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire has announced that it is expanding the capacity of its coral nurseries.
The move comes in the wake of the foundation running a pilot of a new nursery design in 2023 and has now established several new nursery sites around the island.
So far this year, the nursery capacity has been increased by 20%, with more planned down the line. Each coral nursery has up to 10 species of coral that have shown resilience to stony coral tissue loss disease. The initiative is part of a broader plan to boost the genetic diversity of the corals in the waters around the Dutch island.
Commenting on the work, Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire Managing Director Francesca Virdis stated:
“The process of expanding our nurseries will involve both branching and non-branching corals for a total of 10 species. We’re focused on propagating species that are particularly affected by SCTLD, whose populations have become a high priority for our restoration efforts.”
