Bahamas
Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. Despite covering less than 1% of our planet’s surface, they support over a million marine species and provide hundreds of millions of people with food, coastal protection and tourism. However, these vital ecosystems now face grave threats to their survival from destructive fishing practices, sedimentation, pollution and above all climate change-induced bleaching events that damage and kill coral. These combined ongoing stresses have far-reaching consequences, affecting not just the environment but also the economies, societies and cultures that rely on the reefs. The UN estimates that most of the world’s 1,600 coral varieties could become extinct this century.
The Super Coral Programme is our effort to help prevent coral extinction
The MSC Foundation has been working with leading coral and marine experts since 2018 to research, develop, test and refine methods to reverse the decline in coral reefs in the 64-square-mile Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas. Like many island nations, Bahamian culture and livelihoods are tied to the sea, and coral reefs here support the local ecology, economy and critically endangered species. We are therefore working to rebuild these reefs by pioneering the development of coral that is more resilient to environmental threats related to the warming of our oceans.
Ocean Cay is a low-profile sand island located 20 miles south of Bimini in the western Bahamas, 65 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. Historically, the island was exploited as a sand mining site for almost 60 years of destructive operations. It was then abandoned in 2015, when MSC seized the opportunity to launch this ecological restoration programme.
During the initial phases, an international team of marine biologists and expert divers surveyed all the key habitats around the island to identify areas of coral reef priority. They then carefully relocated hard coral colonies from industrial debris that had been discarded on the ocean floor. These actions fostered the longer-term vision of supporting coral to grow and repopulate degraded reefs.
At the same time, a thorough investigation of the ecological condition of Ocean Cay’s coastal and nearshore environments by a team of international experts provided baseline information with which to begin the restoration process. These surveys of the biological and ecological health and dynamics of Ocean Cay revealed:
- A total of 826 corals, identifying and measuring them and assessing their condition.
- 3,578 fish belonging to 90 different species, including nine species of shark.
- Evidence of viable queen conch populations.
- Healthy, continuous seagrass meadows.
The latest scientific thinking is that the rapid decline in coral reefs can be reversed by assisting coral’s natural selection process through establishing certain hardy species and varieties, dubbed “super coral”, which are more resilient to severe environmental stresses like extreme heat.
The MSC Foundation is advancing this work directly with its own unique coral propagation and marine conservation research facility and programme on Ocean Cay to restore important marine ecosystems throughout the region. This Super Coral Programme supports education through partnerships and graduate intern programmes with Florida-based universities to refine our understanding of super coral and raise public awareness. It also provides the opportunity for Ocean Cay visitors to learn about and experience marine conservation and restoration first-hand.
The graduate interns will have the opportunity to acquire advanced skills and training while completing their studies to become the next generation of marine conservation experts, helping establish a new area of marine conservation science that is critically required.
The Super Coral Programme at Ocean Cay has been designed to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect the life of our oceans by saving coral reefs. We hope our efforts in regional and global coral reef restoration continue to attract leading experts to promote, advance and expand the vital work of protecting our blue planet.
Help the MSC Foundation reverse the decline in coral reefs around Ocean Cay with a donation today!
Challenges
25%
of reefs support of all marine life
50%
of all coral has died-off in the last 30 years
50%
of 100s of acres of coral off Ocean Cay have already perished
Up to 90%
of global reef could be lost by 2030 due to ocean warming, pollution and overfishing
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