Abstract Summary
On Febuary 5th 2010, the Vogetrader ship ran aground on a coral reef off the south west shore of O’ahu, HI resulting in a settlement to provide funding for compensatory coral reef restoration projects. Previous successful emergency restoration efforts have focused on the reattachment of corals that have been dislodged during grounding events. These corals of opportunity are also naturally occurring in the environment and can be used as source material for future restoration efforts. In rubble reef areas around O’ahu Hawai’i, coral colonies that settle and grow on unconsolidated substrate can become naturally overturned during surge events, causing tissue loss, bleaching, and eventually mortality. However, if these corals are transferred to a stable coral nursery platform and allowed to recover, the colonies could be used as donor material to restore damaged reefs with minimal impacts to donor areas. The Reef Runway Coral Nursery, deployed in May 2018, was designed to aid in coral restoration efforts in response to reef injuries by harboring corals of opportunity and creating a stock-pile of donor material for future out planting. This presentation will highlight the design, creation and implementation of the nursery structure as well as a cost analysis of the project. Overall, this new coral nursery concept integrates previously used techniques as well as novel methods to face the unique challenges and resources of coral reef restoration in Hawai’i. The Reef Runway Coral Nursery has incredible potential and could prove to be a highly beneficial and cost effective tool for coral restoration.
