Asian Diver – March 2018

Since Sulubaaï started using the SRP in

early 2017, they have observed coral

fragments attaching onto the structures after

one to two months

http://www.sulubaai-foundation.com

LEFT: The Sulu–Reef Prosthesis accelerates coral growth

ABOVE LEFT: Porites attenuata on November 2017

ABOVE RIGHT: The same coral photographed

on January 2018

IMAGES: Sulubaaï Foundation

massive mortality in the past, the
structure of the reefs weakened and
became almost non-existent, allowing
the coral colonies to be easily moved
by hand. As the structure is loose,
coral fragments could move around;
they were seen breaking down,
flipping over, and covering each other.
Given the degradation of the
reefs, the Sulubaaï team stepped
up to design, develop and implant
a sustainable and locally-adapted
coral restoration module. After a few
months of engineering and tests,

the team identified the right module

that could be manufactured on the

island using no chemicals or plastic.

This module, the Sulu–Reef Prosthesis

(SRP), can be easily implanted

to accelerate the growth of the

coral reefs.

As a prosthesis for the naturally

existing reefs, the SRP aims to

provide strong support to unstable

coral fragments in order to facilitate

and maximise their growth. To implant

the SRP, they were placed on the

loose reefs and unstable coral

fragments were collected and fixed

on the SRP structures.

Since Sulubaaï started using

the SRP in early 2017, they have

observed coral fragments attaching

onto the structures after one to two

months. It will take a few years

for the corals to grow and reconstruct

the reef by absorbing the SRP,

but with positive first results, the

foundation is planning to develop

this programme by multiplying SRP

numbers and implanting them

in other areas.