Coral and Hotel Diving Survey

[Lily T]

Hello!

I am a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology working on a research project aimed at coral restoration. As of right now, I am looking to see if current divers would be interested in a coral restoration program at dive resorts.

This survey will only take 5-10 minutes, and your feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Link to Survey: Hotel Diving Survey

 

[tursiops]

Done. You might not be aware that this is already happening.
For example, Buddy Dive in Bonaire has a training program in coral restoration with in situ work, which can be done during the typical one-week stay with them.

 

[iamrushman]

OK done...don't forget us lonely divers when you get your PHD....good luck to you and yours.

 

[Lily T]

Done. You might not be aware that this is already happening.
For example, Buddy Dive in Bonaire has a training program in coral restoration with in situ work, which can be done during the typical one-week stay with them.

We knew that it was in some resorts and hotels. We are trying to see if we could get divers to plant corals without training programs. I will definitely check them out though; thank you for the suggestion!

 

[tursiops]

We knew that it was in some resorts and hotels. We are trying to see if we could get divers to plant corals without training programs. I will definitely check them out though; thank you for the suggestion!

Given the fragility of the baby coral fragments, I'd be hesitant to turn people loose doing it without training.

 

[Esprise Me]

I took the survey, but would like to qualify/add to my answers to say that I'm very interested in the idea but have reservations about the execution. I would want to see a program that addresses the concerns raised by those who oppose these types of programs. For example, one extant program I recently heard about only uses pieces of coral that had already broken off, so as not to cause any damage to living, intact coral. I'd also be interested in hearing about a program with a plan to manage the risk of reducing biodiversity and thereby reducing the adaptability of a coral population. Basically I'd pay a lot of money for the privilege of doing something to help save the reefs, but I want to be sure I'm not making the problem worse.

 

[Michael Fripp]

I wonder if the coral in some regions is more robust than others.

We planted coral as part of a resort restoration project at Papua Explorers in Raja Ampat. There was about 5 minutes of training. The planted coral was mostly looking healthy from previous plantings by other divers who equivalently had little training.

 

[Rilelen]

Echoing others’ concerns…I was scheduled once to do a coral planting dive in the Keys which was cancelled when other operators’ were found to have been planting diseased coral that was spreading pathogens to the existing reef. The situation was dealt with, but I think the biggest challenge with coral planting is infrastructure, not a lack of divers willing to do it.