The Tribune

A BID to establish a commercial coral farm on Grand Bahama has garnered the support of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Development Company with the pilot project poised to be the first in a global network boosting preservation efforts.

The initiative by international coral reef restoration company Coral Vita is expected to bolster underwater eco-systems that act as natural barriers to storms and natural disasters, and shore up eco-tourism on Grand Bahama by increasing stock in the multi-billion dollar global industry.

The project has self-raised $1.5m from international financiers for the construction of their pilot coral farm, which they hope will be the first in a global network of large-scale farms working in tandem with preservation initiatives around the world.

“Grand Bahama has endured the many ravages of hurricanes, and so the importance of protecting our natural storm barriers cannot be overstated,” said Rupert Hayward, GBPA director.

“We jumped at the opportunity to support Coral Vita, not only in raising awareness about the importance of our reefs but to be a part of efforts to oversee the regrowth of miles of coral reefs in and around Grand Bahama.

“The Coral Vita facility, in addition to reviving the reef systems, is intended to serve as a hands-on learning tool, which we hope will peak the interest of future marine biologists and environmentalists.”

He added: “We are excited be at the forefront of the fight to address this major environmental concern.”

Founded by long time dive enthusiast Sam Teicher and his business partner Gator Halpern, Coral Vita has dedicated its resources to scaling up the science and impact of coral farming.

Through its partnership, Coral Vita will use land in Freeport to support restoration projects of any size, and by extension paving the way for economic development through a community-based approach which integrates local stakeholders into the initiative.

The plan to launch their commercial coral farm on Grand Bahama was announced at the University of the Bahamas’ Sustainable Grand Bahama event last week.

Olethea Gardiner, GBPA’s environmental inspector of the Building and Development Services Department, confirmed University of the Bahamas will also be involved with the project.

The process uses a scalable land-based farming model to accelerate coral growth by up to 50 times faster while enhancing their resiliency to the warming and acidifying ocean conditions that threaten their survival. These methods were developed by Coral Vita’s advisors at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and incorporated into Coral Vita’s business model underpin their work to help preserve reefs for future generations.

Mr Teicher said: “I’ve been a diver since I was a kid, so this cause is one that is very personal to me.

“Outside of the ecological wonder of reefs though, coral reef survival is extremely important for communities around the world, and their loss is a major socio-economic catastrophe,” he continued.

“The GBPA and DEVCO are guiding us through the process to launch the farm. We have submitted our environmental impact assessment to GBPA, and soon to the government to hopefully have our coral farm operational here before the end of summer.

“Our farm will grow corals to restore reefs, serve as a new eco-tourism attraction, integrate the local community into our project through educational programming, and make the Bahamas a flagship for ecosystem protection, marine technology, and sustainable development.”