Governor says the research has ‘potential global significance’
A pilot coral reef project, with potential global significance, could help to protect Bermuda’s Causeway during hurricanes.
The Causeway is the main island’s only connection to the airport and east-end, and the Living Reefs Foundation is pursuing a project which aims to strengthen its man-made boulder barrier by planting coral – creating a living, growing reef.
Governor Andrew Murdoch recently joined project leader Dr Samia Sarkis beneath the waves to attach laboratory grown coral to an underwater structure.
He also joined Dr Sarkis and her team at their Coney Island coral hatchery to learn more about the research.
Funded by the UK’s Dawin Initiative, the Living Reefs Foundation has produce young corals from seven boulder-form species at its land-based hatchery, before they are transferred to coral gardens.
Sr Sarkis says the funding has been instrumental in “the development of a scalable and cost-effective model in restoring damaged reefs and protecting the coast from storm and hurricane impact.”
Governor Murdoch says the work being done has potential global significance. “With the threat of sea level rise” he says, “and increasingly extreme weather events, we need to look to nature-based solutions to help protect our coastlines.”
“The work being done in Bermuda is critical to understanding how to promote coral growth in the laboratory for successful placement at sea.”
A Department of Environment spokesperson affirmed their support for the operational needs of the Living Reefs Foundation since 2018, by providing the necessary licenses and laboratory space.
In a nod to the Governor’s visit, the coral he helped to place by the Causeway will be monitored under the name ‘Palmy’ – in homage to his cat.
Government House Press Release:
Funded by Darwin Plus Local funds, and with the support of the Department for
Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Works and Engineering,
The Living Reefs Foundation (LRF) is pursuing a pilot project to use locally grown
and rescue corals as a nature-based solution to enhance the protection Bermuda’s
coral reefs offer during storm surges and hurricanes. The pilot project is focussed
on Bermuda’s 1 kilometre Causeway, which is bordered by patchy reefs and a
partial man-made boulder barrier.
The ’Causeway’ project, led by Dr Samia Sarkis, aims to demonstrate the use of
coral planting to strengthen man-made barriers by turning them into a live and
growing reef. Using state of the art technology, LRF has produced young corals
from seven boulder-form species. These are grown from microscopic larvae in the
Foundation’s land-based hatchery before being transferred to and grown on its
coral gardens. Rescue corals, corals which are identified by government officials as
in danger of destruction from construction of docks or coastal activities, are also
used by LRF. Initially moved to the hatchery to recover, they are then relocated to
selected sites where they boost coral cover.
Dr Samia Sarkis said ‘The Darwin Plus fund has given us the capacity to build our
infrastructure using state of the art technology. This enables us to investigate the
complexities of coral reproduction and reliably produce juveniles, independent of
environmental changes and disturbances, and quantify our coral restoration impact
at scale. Both awards, received since 2023, are instrumental in significantly
advancing our vision: the development of a scalable and cost-effective model in
restoring damaged reefs and protecting the coast from storm and hurricane impact.’
The Governor joined Dr Sarkis and her team to view the hatchery at Coney Island
and learn about the research. He then joined Dr Sarkis in Castle Harbour waters to
attach some laboratory grown coral to an underwater structure. Each coral is given
a local identifier to help monitor growth: this coral was called “Palmy” in homage to
The Governor’s resident cat Palmerston.
The Governor said ‘The UK supported work being done by the Living Reef
Foundation, in close partnership with Government of Bermuda environmental
experts, has potentially global significance. With the threat of sea level rise, and
increasingly extreme weather events, we need to look to nature-based solutions to
help protect our coastlines. The work being done in Bermuda is critical to
understanding how to promote coral growth in the laboratory for successful
placement at sea.’
The data obtained from this study will inform officials on alternative strategies to
build long term resilient breakwaters and increase their cost-effectiveness by
reducing maintenance costs normally incurred by man-made barriers.
It will also provide a powerful mapping tool which can be used to quantify impacts to
the seabed by vessel groundings, and baseline mapping for Environmental Impact
Assessments. One of the main outputs of the project is a technical manual on the
restoration using photogrammetry – using overlapping photographs to create a 3D
model – which will be made available through the Foundation’s website.
A spokesperson for DENR said ‘Since 2018, the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) has supported the operational needs of the Living
Reefs Foundation by issuing Protected Species Licences and providing laboratory
space. The Foundation focuses on restoring coral reefs impacted by direct human
activity, such as boat groundings and coastal development. Using lab-grown corals,
Living Reefs aims to reduce pressure on natural populations and develop scalable
methods to grow genetically diverse corals faster so that reef restoration and
coastal protection can be done in an accelerated timeframe.’
