Koh Tao’s electrified reef, HinFai is now more than two & a half years so far and has been progressing nicely. On a bright and sunny day IDCS Nathan Cook joined EcodiverWil Webster for the final day of his Marine Resource Management Course at the Biorock site.

It was only the two of us on the boat and one of the joys of diving Biorock is the lack of other divers. Visibility was stunning and the current minimal as we collected coral fragments to transplant onto the Biorock structures.

Biorock is one of the few reef restoration techniques that addresses the dual issues of climate change and ocean acidification by changing the water chemistry in the immediate vicinity making the water more basic and therefore less acidic. This in turn assists the corals’ growth by making their building blocks (calcium carbonate) easier to access.

Over the years numerous divers have visited Biorock transplanting hundreds of fragments. ‘Fragments’ are small insecure coral colonies which if left alone are in danger of being rolled around in the sand and will struggle to survive. These fragments we take and attach to structure out of the substrate so they can grow & proliferate without the danger of being turned over.

By the second dive the current was pushing hard making the swim back to the boat a challenge. We managed to attach a few fragments. All in all it is starting to look a bit more complex with the corals growing well.

For more images see…

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.425359746945.231490.297553941945

Biorock Partners

Reef Check/Koh Tao Ecological Monitoring Program Associates

Eco Koh Tao www.ecokohtao.com/probiorock.html

Crystal Dive www.crystaldive.com

Biorock Technologies www.biorock.net

Marine Conservation Koh Tao www.marineconservationkohtao.com