Barbados

Coastal Zone Management Unit, Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources of Barbados, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus

The deteriorating state of reefs, due to a multiplicity of factors including eutrophication, bleaching, anchoring, and the increasing use of the coastal zone in Barbados emphasize the need for innovative management tools to be employed to counteract stress sources. With a focus on colonies that suffered physical damage during activities such as marine construction and anchoring, this study examined the technical
feasibility and financial costs of reattaching damaged coral colonies as a coral reef management tool. One segment of the project concentrated on Folkestone Marine Park, on the west coast, during May to October 1999. The other, located at Needham’s Point on the southwest coast, lasted from January to May 2000.

The Coastal Zone Management Unit implemented and primarily funded the project while additional funding was provided by a small grant from AXYS Environmental Consulting Group, Canada. The study can be characterized as truly collaborative, for at least five governmental agencies, with assistance from a number of other non-governmental organizations, were involved.

• Coastal and marine resources (Chapter IV of the Barbados Programme of Action)
• Biodiversity resources (Chapter IX of the BPoA)

• Reattaching physically damaged corals to their original location with an adhesive was proven to be both technically and biologically feasible. All of the restored Dendrogyra cylindrus colonies remained firmly attached to the reef framework since project completion, even under situationsof high-wave energy.
• All restored colonies exhibited a 100 per cent recovery rate from an outbreak of bleaching caused when sections of the dislodged corals were sheltered from the sunlight. This full recovery occurred despite the fact that the Folkestone area is affected by eutrophic waters and heavily utilized as a snorkeling site.
• Unrestored pillars became more severely bleached and moribund.
• Most of the transported and transplanted corals were bleached within 48 hours of being reintroduced to the marine environment. All of these corals, however, made significant recoveries, with the majority returning to their pre-damage state.
• Even though mortality levels varied over a wide scale, it was observed that the most severely bleached corals also showed the highest degree of mortality.
• Damage caused by divers while transporting and transplanting corals proved to be a significant contributor to the mortality rate of these organisms, as corals affected by further damage during the process experienced higher mortality, quite often extending outwards from the damaged area.
• The stressors directly related to the severing and handling of corals underwater did not appear to be significant, as these actions alone did not appear to induce bleaching or mortality.
• Restoring corals in a new location, meaning away from their original site, apparently introduced another level of stress. The organisms exhibited both higher bleaching and mortality levels than those that were reattached at their native sites.
• A comparative evaluation of the results so far shows that the reattachment of soft corals, specifically G. ventalina, proved to be neither ecologically nor economically feasible.

• Based on the results of this exercise, reef restoration for hard corals appears to be a feasible option in circumstances where there is a one off physical damaging event, as the net benefits are likely to be positive.
• The application of the procedure used in this study as a management tool requires close and continuous monitoring. Transplantation should only be carried out by trained individuals who are aware of the omplexities involved in the process, and in those specific cases where the net benefits are likely to be positive.
• In the Barbados case, the cost of transplantation has been established at around $US1000 per 100 m 2 of reef restored. Penalties for causing physical damage to corals should include not only the estimated value of the corals, but also the cost of restoring the system.
• Prior to committing to such a rehabilitative exercise, if possible, one must ensure that the original stressor is identified. In a specific case, where corals experienced hull damage, the boat captains of most of the catamarans that visit the area were informed about the damage and the restoration works. During the monitoring stage it was observed that all
visiting vessels stayed further offshore, or retracted their daggerboards when entering the snorkeling zone. However, it appears that once the operators were not being monitored by Park Naturalists or the Barbados Coast Guard, both of whom provided assistance to some degree, boat captains resorted to their normal modus operandi.
• The success of the project might lead one to adopt a “cavalier” attitude towards reef damage, since the impression could be given that reefs can be easily restored. The process, however, must not be seen as solution, but as a “last resort”. All steps must be taken to ensure that damage does not occur in the first place.

Contact André Miller
Coastal Zone Management Unit
Bay Street
Saint Michael
Barbados, W.I.
Tel.: (246) 228-5950
Fax: (246) 228-5956
E-mail: amiller@coastal.gov.bb