BEAU VALLON, Seychelles — Beneath the crystal-clear waters of the Indian Ocean island nation of the Seychelles, a fight is growing to save the coral reefs that shelter a range of creatures, from tiny invertebrates to the sprawling octopus, from climate change. Another bleaching event occurred in 2016 after the reefs had partly recovered, said David Rowat, chairman of the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles. Already, conservationists have launched a number of coral reef restoration projects around the nation’s 115 islands. In one, more than 50,000 coral fragments have been nurtured and transplanted by a local charity, Nature Seychelles, in what the organization calls the world’s largest coral restoration program. The aim is to commercialize part of the operation so that it can financially sustain reef restoration well into the future, according to Nature Seychelles.

Source: National Post March 19, 2018 09:00 UTC