January 8th, 2019.
Phantom Divers team, passionate about the sea and its
conservation, again demonstrates its leadership by participating in the coral
reef preservation project of Playa del Carmen, organizing coral restoration and
cleaning dives. Remember that when diving with Phantom Divers you can
participate in this type of projects and in this way, contribute a small part
to this immense sea that has given us so many gifts.
Coralisma is a project designed to contribute to the
preservation, restoration and growth of the reefs of the Riviera Maya through
the creation of a coral nursery. The nursery consists of 10 Staghorn Coral
trees (Acropora cervicornis) placed in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The goal is to
re-plant 600 coral reefs in the area by August 2019.
In this image: Panoramic view of the coral nursery with the
PVC tres.
In the last decade, coral bleaching has appeared in the
Mexican Caribbean, which has reached dimensions of more
than 100 km causing a negative impact on the habitat, structures and
biodiversity of the reefs (Eakin, Mark C., et al. ). This is part of the human
impact.
In this image: structure of PVC similar to a tree. Those
were created by Coral Restoration Foundation™ in Florida
Keys.
The trees are placed at a depth of 15
meters, where they are buoyed to the surface and attached to the ocean floor. This
will cause the PVC structure to stand vertically in the water column, allowing
it to move with the current and become resistant to hurricanes or bad weather.
Each tree holds 60 fragments of Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis). Our
nursery is totally natural and we use asexual reproduction through the
fragmentation method.
In this image: Isabela ríos and Marina
Garmendia, founders of Coralisma, in the process of coral collection in the
reefs of Playa del Carmen. All collections during the scientific diving were
under the supervision of Dr. Claudia Padilla from INAPESCA.
In this photo: Dr. Claudia Padilla, from INAPESCA. The objective of this
project is to facilitate the genetic information of the fragments of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) that will be collected in
order to contribute to the research project called: "Reproduction and
sowing of corals in the Mesoamerican reef - Reef restoration program and coral,
North Region: Contoy-Tulum, 2017-2022 ". Also, ensure genetic resilience
of organisms.
In this image Marina Garmendia keeps the PVC structure ready to be
submerged. The organizations involved that made this project possible are:
Phantom Divers, INAPESCA, and Saving Our Sharks.
In this image: you can see the PVC structure covered in
algae, being the perfect time to clean.
In this image Isabela Rios is holding a brush and
demonstrating how these structures have to be cleaned.
How can you help?
If this project inspires you and is on your interest: we are in search
of volunteer divers who collaborate with the cleaning work. The corals will be
on the farm for nine months, time where we need volunteers to clean the PVC
trees and help keep them healthy. To support our farm it is necessary you to be
an experienced diver and be comfortable with your buoyancy. The cleanings will
take place every fifteen days during the months of January to August. Do you
want to help? Piece of cake! In Phantom divers, for the price of a recreational
dive, you can collaborate during cleaning dates. Phantom divers will organize
events on their facebook account to invite volunteer divers to participate in
this eco-tourism diving. We need many Mexicans to join this project, we can not
lose the paradise we live in. Join the reforestation! If we do not act today,
tomorrow may be too late ...
Other ways you can support Coralisma, check out:
https://www.gofundme.com/coralisma
Help us finish the next missing phases
successfully and boost the regeneration of a space that generates the oxygen of
human life.
For further
information:
IG: @coralisma_mx
Facebook: Coralisma
Written by: Marina Garmendia e Isabela
Rios.