Buceo en México : CORALISMA- REEFS PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE RIVIERA MAYA PROJECT

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.