Global Coral Reef Alliance A non-profit corporation dedicated to growing, protecting and managing the most threatened of all marine ecosystems —Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs – Support, Nurture, Protect, Provide

Reefs are dying all over the world

Today, 65% of the worlds reefs are dying (US Coral Reef Task Force, NOAA)

Why are reefs dying? Rising water temperatures Sewage flows Eutrophication Disease Dredging Dynamite Cyanide fishing Bleaching Physical damage

Consider Cancun Only 12 families lived on this forested island until the 1970s Then the tourist industry arrived Today, 2.6 million people visit Cancun each year The island is bare, its forests long gone Sewage facilities process only one-quarter of the daily flow The rest goes straight into the sea

Reefs are often covered with algae Tourism Trashes Ecological Hotspots Ecotourism is touted as a boon to the environment; poor locals working as guides and hoteliers will no longer exploit natural resources for survival. But tourists leave a lot more than footprints, according to a study announced at the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa. In just 10 years, world tourism rates have skyrocketed 200 to 500 percent. Now Conservation International and the United Nations Environment Program report that rubberneckers bring with them long-term ecological devastation. Consider Cancun, Mexico. Only 12 families lived on this forested island until the 1970s. Then the tourist industry arrived. Today, 2.6 million people visit each year, and the island is naked, its forests long gone. Local facilities can process only one-quarter of the sewage; the rest goes straight into the sea. Biodiversity hotspots, home to extraordinary numbers of species, are worst hit. Water siphoned for tourism can upset finely balanced ecosystems. Once natural treasures are destroyed, tourists depart forever, leaving local peoples in worse shape than before the travel boom.

Algae comes in green, brown and red Bay Islands, Honduras, 2000

It smothers and kills healthy coral

Algae growth is often followed by Yellow-band disease

Bleaching is usually caused by rising ocean temperatures

Tissue is visible in the absence of symbiotic algae

Corals worldwide suffer from bleaching Bonaire, 2001

BLEACHED CORAL NEW GUINEA

Physical damage is everywhere Bay Islands, Honduras, 2003

Cyanide fishing kills coral Healthy After cyanide exposure

Elkhorn and anchors don’t mix Bay Islands, Honduras, 2003

When reefs die… Fish populations disappear Fishermen lose their livelihood Beaches and shorelines wash away Land areas erode from waves Tourists find somewhere else to dive Local economies can be devastated

A solution for corals in peril Biorock™ Process

The Biorock™ Process Corals thrive. Even where water quality is poor

Biorock™/ Mineral Accretion On underwater, conductive structures we assemble a positively charged anode and a negatively charged cathode (structure) Apply a low voltage electric current between them Safe for swimmers Which causes minerals to crystallize from seawater onto structures Calcium carbonate, white limestone (CaCO3) is formed Similar to natural coral reefs and tropical white sand Corals adhere to limestone and grow quickly

How a Biorock™ Reef works When a positively charged anode and a negatively charged cathode are suspended in sea water with an electric current flowing between them, calcium ions combine with carbonate ions and adhere to the structure (cathode). The result is calcium carbonate. Corals adhere to CaCO3 and grow quickly. Solar collector or other power supply Coral Fragments Anode (+) Cathode (-) Conductive Structure (CaCO3)

Rebar can be welded in any shape

When the materials are fully assembled…

We float it into position

We attach the electric cables

Calcium carbonate quickly forms on the structure

We make the frame ready for coral

We wire naturally broken pieces of coral to the structure

Coral fragments soon cover the frame

We monitor coral growth

Barnacle Reef, Maldives, 1997

Barnacle Reef A year later, 1998

Barnacle Reef, 3 years growth

Corals are robust and healthy

Fish populations move in

The new marine ecosystem is both balanced and healthy

Biorock™ Reefs attract divers

Biorock™ Reefs around the world Indonesia, Bali and Komodo Jamaica Maldives, Ihuru and Vabbinfaru Mexico, Yucatan Panama, San Blas Islands Papua New Guinea Saya de Malha Seychelles Thailand, Phuket Palau * * * * * * *

GCRA Projects have won international awards The SKAL award for the best Underwater Ecotourism project worldwide. KONAS Indonesian National Award for best community-based coastal zone management Theodore Sperry Award, the top prize of the Society for Ecological Restoration Maldives Environment Award

Biorock™ Press Shock treatment for coral restoration By Clark Boyd Technology correspondent Coral reefs around the world are disappearing. In many places, more than 90% of corals have bleached or died. But an effort is under way to re-grow corals by giving them a bit of electro-shock therapy. It may be too late to save many of the corals Marine biologist Tom Goreau knows coral. He has been diving among the reefs since before he could walk. As the director of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, he is passionate about how extraordinary corals are

GCRA projects Build, restore and maintain coral reefs in communities worst affected by loss of reefs Build reefs for tourism Breakwaters for shore protection Mariculture—Oysters Consultation—Diseases, conservation, rehabilitation

Funding To date……. Small cash donations from private individuals and businesses Valuable in-kind donations from the communities with which the GCRA has worked. No Salaries are drawn from GCRA funding

Global Coral Reef Alliance Associates Jon Allen, GCRA Board of Directors, research engineer and instrumentation designer Yos Amerta, Bali programs Max Benjamin, Papua New Guinea programs Jude Bijoux, Seychelles programs James Cervino, Coral physiologist, field and laboratory analysis Dan & Stefanie Clark, Florida programs Gabriel Despaigne, Panama programs Gerardo Garcia, Mexico programs Marina Goreau, Children's program Tom Goreau, GCRA President Azeez. A. Hakeem, Maldives programs Ray Hayes, GCRA Board of Advisors, coral health Wolf Hilbertz, Reef Restoration Jeff Houdret, GCRA Board of Advisors, marketing advisor, web issues Narayana, Bali programs Dr. Steven Orzack, GCRA Board of Directors, Director of the Fresh Pond Research Institute Niphon Phongsuwan, Thailand programs Cody Shwaiko, Komodo programs Roque Solis, Panama programs Dr. Robert K. Trench. Retired professor of biology at University of California at Santa Barbara Ernest Williams, GCRA Board of Directors, Coral diseases