Golfo Dulce, in the southeastern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is home to coral reefs and communities that have been affected by different factors in the last three decades. In a recent attempt to conserve these important marine ecosystems that are threatened worldwide, coral gardening is becoming a useful tool to help restore the corals; this is like reforestation in the ocean. Corals can be damaged by several factors, including natural and anthropogenic, sedimentation, water temperature rise, chemical pollution and negligence in touristic activities, among others, can lead to coral degradation. When this happens, it can be difficult for them to grow because the larvae cannot develop well in the surrounding area or the algae that inhabit the calcareous skeletons die, producing leaching.
In Golfo Dulce, a project run by INA (Instituto Nacional de Apendizaje) with the support of Playa Cativo Boutique Hotel is working to restore some of the remaining coral communities in this fjord-like embayment. By collecting fragments in La Viuda, Punta Adela, and Playa Valina, we try to regrow four different species of corals: Pavona gigantea, Porites lobata, Psammocora stellata and Pocillopora damicornis; four out of ten species that are found in Golfo Dulce in both live and dead reefs. When they reach a certain size in the coral nursery (situated in Cativo Bay), they can be out-planted at the selected area. So far, we have done two out plantings since the project started a year ago.
The process is not easy nor fast. It takes more than a year to see any small result, but it is worth it. Coral reefs provide a lot of ecosystem services; the tourism industry, local fisheries and ecological fluctuations in the sea will have a significant impact. Healthy reefs are synonyms of healthy oceans!
By Alejandra Rojas-Barrantes
Environment Playa Cativo Lodge Resident biologist
Contact: Alejandra Rojas-Barrantes - Playa Cativo Lodge Resident Biologist
