Coral Restoration & Nursery Sites
Nusa Penida & Bira boast some of the most unspoiled and biodiverse coral reefs in the world. We are lucky to have such a rich baseline to be working from, but conservationists are concerned for the future of our reefs.
On Nusa Penida the island is developing quickly and with it we can expect some impact on our coastlines. Recent bad weather also damaged much of the beautiful coral in Crystal Bay, one of our most popular dive sites.
In Tanjung Bira the shallow coastal reefs need our help from various anthropogenic and climate pressures. Indo Ocean Project is in the process of developing and installing coral nurseries in targeted areas to help regenerate the the reefs.
In Nusa Penida we focus our efforts in Crystal Bay with our interns, and the North Coast with the CorAlliance team. In Bira our coral restoration program is currently being developed, news coming soon (February, 2022).
Interns collect naturally occurring fragments from the surrounding areas and attach them to a fixed rope structure in water between 5m – 12m, as well as to our fixed nursery structures. As the fragments grow large enough they are then out-planted to nearby reefs at similar depths of water.
In October 2018, two of our friends from Conservation Diver visited Indo Ocean Project to help us build and install our first coral nursery, many thanks to Spencer Arnold and Elouise Haskin.
Partnering with Reeflex Divers and Ocean Gardener we work to build, maintain and monitor our coral nursery in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida. Together we are trialling the best methods and hope to be able to restore damaged areas to their former glory, as well as assessing restoration success.
Locations: Penida, Bira.
