TRAINING GUIDE FOR CORAL REEF RESTORATION Photo: MAR Fund - Carlos Gereda - Carlos MAR Fund Photo: MESOAMERICAN REEF SYSTEM (MAR Fund) REEF RESCUE INITIATIVE This Guide is a practical, complementary tool for coral reef restoration training. Individuals wishing to start a restoration project must contact local authorities to learn about the legal implications and obtain the corresponding permits, as well as join working groups with restoration experience to receive proper training. For more information visit our websites: www.coralmar.org www.marfund.org Photo: MAR Fund - Carlos Gereda - Carlos MAR Fund Photo: SCRIPT Baruch Figueroa Zavala Centro Ecológico Akumal EDITOR María José González Executive Director, MAR Fund Claudia Ruiz Reef Rescue Initiative Coordinator, MAR Fund María del Carmen García Rivas DESING National Commission of Protected Priscila Pocasangre Natural Areas (CONANP) Perspectiva Arte&Diseño Carlos Gereda Espacio Visual COLLABORATORS Enrique Castañeda Claudia Padilla Espacio Visual Instituto Nacional de Pesca y Acuacultura (INAPESCA) Gabriela Segovia Atlantic Films Calina Zepeda The Nature Conservancy Mónica Paiz Atlantic Films Anastazia T. Banaszak Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology Fotografía (ICMYL) - Academic Unit of Reef Systems of Puerto Morelos, of the National Autonomous Carlos Gereda University of Mexico (UNAM) Espacio Visual Héctor Antonio Lizárraga Claudia Ruiz Centro Ecológico Akumal MAR Fund Lisa Carne David Mejía Suansin Fragments of Hope Fabián Grageda Tripp Funderburk Mesoamerican Reef Restoration Roatan Marine Park Coral Restoration Network Ángela Mujica Marcio Aronne Restoration Projects Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Monumento Ana Giró Natural Marino Cayos Cochinos Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Roatan Divers Photo: MAR Fund - Carlos Gereda - Carlos MAR Fund Photo: Emma Doyle Mesoamerican Reef Fund Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) (MAR Fund) Mesoamerican Reef Rescue Initiative Miguel García Salgado Oceanus, A.C. This document was prepared by Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund), Mesoamerican Reef Gabriela Nava Rescue Initiative (RRI) with the support of the Oceanus, A.C. International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the Small Grants Program for United Nations Adriel Castañeda Environmental Programme (UN/UNEP). Ecosystem-based Management Unit Coordinator, Belize Fisheries Department Ian Drysdale Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Someira Zambrano Dominican Reef Network (RAD) CHAPTER 1 THE MESOAMERICAN REEF SYSTEM ............................................. 9 1.1 The Mesoamerican Reef System (MAR) .............................................. 10 1.2 Benefits of the MAR .............................................................................. 10 1.3 Threats to the MAR ............................................................................... 11 ÍNDICE 1.4 About this guide ................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION TO CORAL REEF RESTORATION....................... 13 2.1 The benefits of restoration and considerations prior to its implementation..................................................................... 14 2.2 Planning................................................................................................ 15 2.3 Initial scopes......................................................................................... 15 2.4 Objectives and actions........................................................................... 16 2.5 Feasibility study...................................................................................... 17 2.6 Political and legal basis.......................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 3 RESTORATION OF CORAL REEFS Asexual rearing techniques of coral......................................... 19 3.1 Asexual reproduction........................................................................... 20 3.2 Sexual reproduction process through coral fragmentation.................... 20 3.3 Coral gardening (rearing in nurseries).................................................. 20 3.4 Land-based nurseries (ex situ).............................................................. 21 3.5 Ocean-based nurseries (in situ)............................................................. 22 3.6 Construction of in situ nurseries........................................................... 23 3.7 Floating structures................................................................................ 23 3.8 Fixed structures.................................................................................... 24 3.9 Steps to asexual restoration through fragmentation............................... 25 3.9.1 Site selection....................................................................................... 25 3.9.2 Collection........................................................................................... 28 3.9.3 Transportation to the nursery or outplanting site.................................. 29 3.9.4 Attaching fragments for stabilization in nurseries................................. 30 3.9.5 Nursery maintenance.......................................................................... 31 3.9.6 Monitoring of coral nurseries.............................................................. 31 3.9.7 Outplanting onto the reef.................................................................... 32 3.9.8 Maintenance and monitoring of the reef.............................................. 34 CHAPTER 4 RESTORATION OF CORAL REEFS ................................................................. 35 4.1 Sexual reproduction............................................................................. 36 4.2 Requirements for sexual reproduction of coral..................................... 38 4.3 Spawning of coral................................................................................ 38 4.4 Collection of gametes........................................................................... 39 4.5 Collection from the surface in spawning slicks..................................... 39 4.6 Collecting from colonies in situ............................................................ 39 4.7 Fertilization.......................................................................................... 40 4.8 Embryo development in an incubator................................................... 41 4.9 Settlement of larvae ............................................................................. 42 4.10 Destination of coral recruits: introduction to the reef or rearing nursery........................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 5 EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE ............................................................................. 45 5.1 Experts in reef restoration of the region share ÍNDICE their experiences.................................................................................... 46 5.2 Challenges............................................................................................. 46 5.3 Achievements and recommendations..................................................... 47 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................ 49 TRAINING GUIDE FOR CORAL REEF RESTORATION cHAPTER 1 THE MESOAMERICAN REEF SYSTEM Photo: MAR Fund - Carlos Gereda - Carlos MAR Fund Photo: 9 1.1 The Mesoamerican Reef 1.2 Benefits of the MAR System (MAR) The Mesoamerican Reef System supports over two The Mesoamerican Reef System stretches over million people who directly or indirectly depend one thousand kilometers, from Isla Contoy in on the resources it provides. the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, down to the Bay Islands in Honduras, including the coasts Millions of tourists visit the MAR region every year of Belize and Guatemala. for the coastal and marine attractions. Tourism and recreational activities like diving generate a It is the largest coral reef in the Western substantial source of employment to the residents Hemisphere and the second largest in the THE MESOAMERICAN REEF SYSTEM of the coasts in the four countries that make up world after the Australian Great Barrier Reef. the MAR. It is home to more than 65 species of hard corals and has valuable concentrations of mangroves, as well as seagrass. It is the habitat for over 500 species of fish, more than 350 species of mollusks, and also to protected or endangered species, such as the manatee, the marine turtle, the whale shark, and acroporid corals, commonly known as elkhorn and staghorn corals. CAPÍTULO 1 CAPÍTULO That is why the MAR constitutes a vital place for the protection of biodiversity and the preservation of ecosystemic services that are Photo: David Mejia Suansin essential to humankind. Fisheries provide food to all the populations of these countries and are the primary source of employment for local fishermen. The fisheries in the MAR, such as lobster, halibut, conch, and snapper, among others, are important at local, regional and international levels. Additionally, the reef structure is the first barrier protection for the coast, because it absorbs up to 99 percent of the wave energy from surges, storms, and hurricanes. 10 TRAINING GUIDE FOR CORAL REEF RESTORATION 1.3 Threats to the MAR The spectacular beauty of the MAR landscape 5. Manufacturing and textile processing plants makes it a tourism destination of high importance, depend on the water from the nearby rivers, while the availability