#HTE
For today’s Earth Week feature, we’re zooming in on the efforts of Coral Vita. Located in Freeport, Grand Bahama, this facility is the world’s first commercial land-based coral farm for reef restoration, growing coral to restore dying reefs. Why is this work so important in the context of climate change? Because, not only do coral reefs sustain 25% of marine life and up to 1 billion people’s livelihoods, but they also provide natural protection for roughly 93,000 miles (150,000 km) of coastline. With sea levels on the rise and coastal storms increasing in frequency, we should be protecting our coral so it can continue to protect us.
Unfortunately, half of Earth’s reefs are already dead and more than 90% are on track to die by 2050. Meaningful action to counteract climate change, overfishing, and pollution is not happening fast enough. That’s where Coral Vita restoration comes into play. They use breakthrough methods to grow coral up to 50x faster — in months instead of decades — while strengthening their resilience to warming oceans. Using a land-based aquaculture farming model, a single farm can potentially supply an entire island or nation’s reefs with more diverse, resilient, and affordable coral. Despite getting crushed by Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, they’re fully committed to preserving the ecosystems that sustain us all, and ultimately plan to launch farms in every nation with coral reefs.
Photography by Nicholas von Albedyhll / Coral Vita
https://dailyoverview.tumblr.com/post/649290349865484288