Coral Reef Restoration
Weathering Strong Storms in the Age of Climate Change
According to a 2013 Time Magazine article, the Philippines is "the most exposed country in the world to tropical storms".
In the Philippines, the region that we work in is at the top of the most hit areas in the Philippines. All this means that we are doing coral reef restoration in one of (if not THE) the most hit areas by strong storms in the world.
In October-November 2020, an unprecedented 3 major storms hit our area within a 17 day period. Residents had to rebuild their homes 3 times, which had a devastating effect on these communities. The damage under the water was just as extensive. Many reefs have been damaged or destroyed, including some of our artificial coral restoration projects. The need to restore the coral reefs is even more urgent. These vital eco-systems support local fishing communities and must recover soon or the consequences will be dire. After surveying the effects of the typhoons on the coral reefs, we found some species to be completely wiped out. The more delicate species Acropora can no longer be found in an area that it used to be abundant.
Fortunately, our coral nursery survived, and we will be planting the fragments we have been raising back into the areas where they were wiped out by the typhoons. This will hasten their return as these fragments grow and spawn to help propagate the species and re-take its place in the coral reef ecosystems. This in turn has an effect on fish catch in the local communities. Healthy reefs = healthy communities.
Typhoon Goni (Rolly) Hit Catanduanes with 195 mph winds
Coral fragments are allowed to grow bigger in the nursery before outplanting
Innovative Solutions
Suspended 10’ by 10’ artificial reefs can be lowered when storms come
The recent powerful storms taught us that we have to keep innovating to keep up with the changes that are happening due to climate change. Some of our artificial reefs that were deployed in 30-40 feet of water were destroyed by the typhoons, so what can we do to keep them safe in the future? Most coral species live in between 10-40 feet of water, mostly because they need enough sunlight to keep the algae that live in their tissues alive to produce food for the coral. The problem with super typhoons (cat 5) is the waves and currents they generate reaches down deeper than that. For our artificial reefs to be safe, we need them to be at 80-100 feet deep, but most corals cannot grow at those depths. The solution: floating artificial reefs. If we can suspend a reef at 20 feet below the surface, and lower it down to 100 feet temporarily to allow a storm to pass, then we could keep our projects safe. We then raise them back up when the storm passes. The longer term idea is to raise up 100 sq foot pieces of reef to maturity, and then place them securely in an area of degraded reef. Once mature, the coral will be able to repel predators and withstand storms. It will be like a pop-up restaurant, but in this case, a pop-up reef!
Community Transformation
Transforming coastal communities is key for sustainability. In Guijalo, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, we helped start the Guijalo Sanctuary Fisherfolk Association. The GSFA is already taking steps to become self-sustaining. They are registered as a labor organization with the government, they have a bank account, and they are starting small businesses that can help raise funds for their organization, as well as provide work for some of it’s members. The GSFA is also helping widows, single mothers and the elderly in their times of need. Banding together to volunteer and repair homes damaged by typhoons and providing food assistance to the most needy in their community, they are a big part of transforming their communities.
Coastal Communities Take a Risk
Setting up a Marine Protected Area (or fish sanctuary) requires that local fishermen give up a portion of their fishery as a “no-fishing” zone. For the poorest families, this appears to be a huge sacrifice, and a danger to their food security. It takes a lot of education and relationship building to help people make this sacrifice. In early 2020, the sanctuary was established and buoys were placed marking the no-fishing zone. We helped the Sanctuary Fisherfolk Association to start a “fish catch monitoring” database. To keep it simple, we started recording only 2 fish species: the yellowfin tuna and the swordfish, as these are the most important economically to the town. We compiled the data from 2019 and the first 9 months of 2020. The results that came back surprised all of us. In comparing the data from the first 9 months of 2019 against the first 9 months of 2020, there was a 63% increase in the catch of yellowfin tuna by weight! After only 9 months, fishermen were experiencing significant benefits from having a fish sanctuary in their fishing grounds. Those who still had doubts were convinced of the effectiveness of fish sanctuaries by seeing the actual benefits to their families and communities.