Goldeneye Resort and Spa & the Oracabessa Bay Fish Sanctuary

Jamaica

Seascape Caribbean and a team of three coral gardeners worked to rebuild the coral reefs by creating (and maintaining) a safe haven for healthy coral to grow, just as a gardener would plant seeds and water them. This requires tedious work to ensure the harvesting of the coral reefs in a protected nursery, which includes hours spent under water growing the coral in a condition conducive to its survival. Sometimes that means playing the role of a fish—warding off snails, algae, worms and anything else harmful—so the coral has the best chance possible at thriving. Fisherman catches have improved by twofold in the area since 2011.

The Round Hill Resort and Villas

Jamaica

Seascape Caribbean was contracted by XXXX at Round Hill Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica to restore the corals, fish and shellfish of their house-reef, located just off their main beach.

Challenges

• Most of the corals died in the 1980s due to pollution and overfishing thus preventing a balanced and healthy system.

• The remaining reefs look green-brown and are far less productive, so fish are small and costly in the market.

• The client would also like to prevent beach loss that has already occurred in places like Hellshire and Negril as result of losing these corals.

Project Goals

• The hotel  will look to provide educational tours of the Round Hill Reef to guests as well as to area schoolchildren by snorkeling and glass-bottom boat tours.

• Train technicians (local fishermen) and Round Hill staff to keep the corals healthy.

Solution

Seascape Caribbean utilized a proprietary process of “gardening” of corals, by growing them in a nursery and then planting those grown corals back to the reef. These corals, in turn, provide good nursery habitats for baby fish, lobsters and crabs to grow, increasing total numbers. Our technicians are called “Coral Gardeners” as their work is similar to what you might do in your home garden.