Abstract Summary
Scientists and reef practitioners have been scrambling to discover new techniques to combat global coral degradation. Coral restoration is still a developing field, and many innovations and improvements are necessary for long-term success and conservation. The growing attention towards restoration has led to a number of successful scientific and non-profit ventures, however many of these are limited to small, grant-based projects with constraints on size, scale, and longevity. Coral Vita is developing a new for-profit, for-good business model that can address these issues by creating a network of commercial land-based farms, each supported by a range of revenue streams. As a mission-driven company, Coral Vita is incorporating the latest coral farming techniques developed by marine institutes, including the Mote Marine Laboratory and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Coral Vita’s pilot project on Grand Bahama Island will be the first reef restoration facility of its kind, growing a diverse range of species in various size ranges, while acclimating out-plants to localized changing ocean conditions. This land-based farm will serve as an ecotourism destination, where visitors can pay to tour the farm, sponsor corals, plant corals, or receive restoration dive certifications from SCUBA agencies, while also serving as an education/conservation center for the local community and schools to learn more about coral reefs and ocean conservation. The farm, and its proximity to offshore reefs, will provide an excellent platform to test new aquaculture, monitoring, out-planting, and breeding techniques needed to advance the field of restoration. The company can also sell the service of reef restoration to interested parties that may include: coastal developers, beachfront resorts, cruise ship operators, governments, international development agencies, fisheries associations, the re-insurance industry, coastal property owners, mitigation banks, and high net worth/corporate sponsors. Without having to rely solely upon donations and grants, Coral Vita will be able to inject much needed private capital into reef restoration, benefiting all practitioners. Coral Vita will use this Grand Bahama site to demonstrate the efficacy of establishing large land-based restoration farms that are crucial to preserving coral reefs.
