CORAL REEFS
DAMAGE ... WHO’S
RESPONSIBLE? |
By:
Zeyad M. El Bassel
The
world’s coral reefs
 “Corals
reefs all over the world are in serious
trouble” according to the World Atlas
of Coral Reefs. The total area of the coral
reefs of the world is only about 286,000
square kilometers. During the last 20years,
the world has lost more than 25 % of these
precious natural resources. Moreover, of
the remaining reefs (according to the World
Resources Institute) 58 % are in imminent
danger due to human activities. This scary
state of deterioration is probably the most
significant catastrophe facing the diving
community, because simply, without reefs
there would be a remarkable decrease in
the diving activities.
Many of the world’s top reef scientists
predicted that coral reefs as we know them
today will be destroyed by the middle of
this century. That means, the next generation
will only enjoy reefs in documentary movies
and printed materials!
There are several reasons that coral reefs
are dying, probably the top four are:
- Nutrient loading into coastal waters from
agriculture and poorly or untreated sewage.
- Heavy sedimentation from large coastal
construction and/or poor land-use practices.
- Over fishing or destructive practice such
as blast or cyanide fishing.
- Global-scale problems like abnormal atmospheric
warming and ozone depletion.
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Tourism,
diving and the coral reef
Of course we can’t ignore the impact
on the coral reefs from tourism, but the
fact is that the nature of tourism related
damage is not what you might think. Most
destruction related to coral reefs’
tourism is not because of scuba diving,
but due to improper or irresponsible building
design or construction practices and other
problems related to infrastructure.
Poor planning and practices result in excessive
sedimentation and habitat destruction during
construction, and lack of adequate wastewater
treatment afterward.
 It
is clear that there has been some confusion
and misconceptions over exactly who has
been the main reason for the coral reef
degradation. Of course, divers are obvious
targets to blame, since our activities are
so visible and also because scuba diving
and coral reefs are as well-associated as
skiing and mountain slopes. That is why
the view has been expressed by some that
scuba divers represent a major factor in
the decline of the coral reefs. There is
a single major problem with this argument:
It is not true. In fact, the beauty, the
value of coral, and the efforts made to
protect and preserve them, would have not
been even an issue if the scuba diving had
not been a common sport practice. Many of
the coral reefs all over the world have
been, for years, mistreated, misused and
in fact destroyed by a variety of ignorant
human behavior. In addition, scuba divers
are the only known group that receives environmental
information and adequate reef protection
behavior during their basic training.
Researchers showed that the leading cause
for coral reef damage from tourism activities
is not diving, but in fact anchoring. Fortunately,
the problem of anchoring is easily eliminated
by using morning lines and doing drift dives
as it is the case in the Egyptian Red Sea.
However, the dive community accepts that
divers are responsible for some damage to
coral reefs (although both the scale and
nature of such damage is not nearly as widespread
or devastating as from other sources). Moreover,
the dive community has been positive in
dealing with this concern through its educational
programs and continuous cooperation with
the nature protection programs.
Since the mid 80s the effect that divers
have on coral reefs has come under the close
examination of researchers and resource
managers. Unfortunately, based on this research,
politicians and government administrators
now take important decisions about management
of coral reefs with respect to diving activities
and often disregard other vital effects.
Although these studies seem to be classic
in terms of that the divers can have a significant
negative effect on coral reefs within limited
areas where diving is especially popular,
they do overlook that overall damage caused
by diving activity is less than 1% of the
damage to coral reef.
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Research
and the outcomes
Some of the best known
studies have been conducted on Australia’s
Great Barrier Reef, the Virgin Islands of
the Caribbean, Florida Keys and of course
the Red Sea. A summary of observations and
conclusions is presented herein;
- The vast majority of damage is caused by
a very small minority of divers. It was found
that 84% of divers caused no damage whatsoever,
4% of divers accounted for more than 70% of
the damage. In addition, most damage was unintentional
and divers who do damage are often unaware
that they did.
- Branching corals such as table, Elkhorn
and Staghorn (Acropora Sp.) are much more
susceptible to divers’ damage than more
robust boulder-type corals.
- 6-4% of all corals on a popularly dived
reef were touched during a typical week. In
addition 90% of all divers make at least one
contact to the bottom, however, only 2% of
these contacts caused immediate visible damage.
- Most of the researchers agree that divers
do not inflict extensive damage comprehensive
to the ecological function of a coral reef.
However, divers’ damage can degrade
the sparkling value of a reef.
- Many researchers concluded that the experience,
the advice, and the quality of the briefing
given by competent Dive Masters and/or Instructors
is important. This is particularly critical
since the prime element responsible for divers’
damage is poor buoyancy control.
- Divers tend to be at their clumsiest during
the first 10 minutes of a dive. Studies showed
that divers’ impact is greatest near
moorings where divers arrive to the bottom
and take a few minutes to adjust equipment
and/or get control of their buoyancy. This
has a critical implication for where mooring
lines are placed.
- Out of almost every study, researchers found
that women impact the coral reef far less
than men do. This is not a call to start a
gender war, but your explanation for this
consistent finding is welcome!
- Another interesting finding is that there
is no correlation between one’s level
of diving experience and how often that individual
contacted the corals (how about that!). In
fact some of the researchers offered that
“It seemed that inexperienced divers
generally had poor buoyancy and finning control,
but were more cautious about approaching the
bottom, while more experienced divers spent
more time exploring close to the terrain and
bumping it as a result”.
- On the contrary to the above finding, some
other studies showed indications that the
more experienced the diver, the less effect
she/he has on coral reefs. They note that
the number of contacts with corals is remarkably
reduced the higher the level of the diver.
So these last two findings are still in the
debate!
- Finally, carrying a still camera, video
camera, being engaged in close up observation
of coral reef are all identified as high-risk
factors for reef impact.
Zoning and carrying capacity.
 Many
researchers are convinced that any damage
to coral reef as a result of tourism would
be likely to remain insignificant if appropriate
management systems were implemented. The protected
coral reef management plans include:
- The number and type of tourist visits
- Appropriate behavior of visitors
- Ensure that the coral reef has the proper
natural surroundings to rapidly recover from
any damage.
In addition, many resource managers use or
consider the idea known as “zoning”.
This is simply assigning special areas as
“for research only” or implementing
rules such as “take nothing but photos,
leave nothing but bubbles”.
Closing areas to allow them to retrieve has
been successfully part of the management plan
implemented in the Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park and in the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary.
Recently, resource managements have defined
the new concept of the “carrying capacity”.
A carrying capacity is simply “the maximum
level of visitor use an area can accommodate
so that high levels of satisfaction are gained
by visitors with little negative impact on
resources.”
Applying the carrying capacity concept to
divers as a management strategy is not only
a new area of research, but also inflicts
several debatable issues that can be summarized
in the following;
- Diver carrying capacity is a highly specific
and localized measure, rather than a universal
number for all coral reefs.
- The number of divers a reef can absorb without
negative effect is totally dependant on the
behavior of the divers.
- Other factors affecting the reef carrying
capacity are hotels and resorts, snorkellers
and other beach users. This is especially
important in - easy to access from shore -
sites such as those in the Red Sea.
Public awareness and education.
One can observe a positive
point, that is, a significant change in the
attitude of divers has occurred during the
last two decades. Divers are definitely considered
one of the most environmentally sensitive
groups around, not only because they learn
in every beginner’s course about the
delicacy of the underwater marine life, but
also because the environmental resources turns
out to be the major attraction for them.
In addition, divers are the first to notice
any decay or degradation in the marine environment.
This explains why the damage that would have
been done by a specific group of divers would
be actually eliminated or at least minimized
through education.
In a study done by
David Medio in the Red Sea, he found out that;
- Uninformed divers – those who received
no environmental briefing made contact with
the coral reef 8 times per dive.
- 80% of those contacts were damaging.
- Only 35 % of all contacts were unintentional.
The following findings
are especially important for dive guides and
Instructors to remember. After a short adequate
briefing reminding the diver of the following
appropriate practice;
1. Controlling buoyancy
2. Maintaining a respectful distance
3. Being cautious about fin kicking
4. Avoid intentionally touching the corals
The following astonishing
results were found;
- The impact went down from 8 to only 1.5
per dive
- Less than 30% of those were damaging
- 80% of all contacts were unintentional
This significant change
put a lot of responsibility on dive guides
and instructors conducting daily or safari
diving. More public awareness efforts should
be directed to visitors, especially snorkellers,
and prior to conducting any activities. In
addition, responsibility should also be shared
with tour operators, tour guides and hotels
to increase public awareness and encourage
responsible environmental behavior.
We - the diving community - have always been
not only backing up the efforts of preserving
and protecting the natural resources but also
delighted to take the initiative to do it.
It is certainly unfair to accuse divers of
being the cause of the significant and implacable
damage to the coral reef. On the contrary,
it is probably realistic to affirm that divers
revealed the secrets of the underwater terrain,
explored the magnificent marine life and introduced
the submersed beauties to humanity.
Nevertheless, it is also essential that we
- the diving community - continue to do our
best to preserve the environmental resources
through adapting responsible behavior, promote
public awareness, emphasize education and
above all promote diving activities.
Happy
diving...
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| RED
SEA RANGERS |
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My friend Mohamed Habib, one of the
founders of the Red Sea Diving Association
and one of our team working for Nature
Conservation in the Red Sea, visited
me last week and requested an article
for the Red Sea H2O Magazine. I told
him; first I need to read the last issue
and think of the appropriate article.
During Eid, and while I was resting
with my family at my home city Almahalla
Alkobra, I glanced at the 1st anniversary
issue; and to my surprise I was completely
shaken by all the good news in that
issue, almost all the names mentioned
in the issue are my friends, both Governor
of the Red Sea, Saad Abu Rida, Governor
of South Sinai, Mostafa Afifi, Chairman
of the Association Karim Helal, Amr
Ali - President of HEPCA. I felt all
of them were talking to me and reminding
me of all the good efforts made for
the protection of the Red Sea, (e.g.
the battle for Giftun Island and new
environmental fees). I have personally
participated in all of these important
events. In addition, I was fascinated
by the interesting subjects in the issue
(e.g. shark feeding, beyond diving,
planet blue, crown of thorns starfish,
HEPCA at work, Shalatin and its people
and even photo gallery). |
By:
Prof. Dr. Moustafa M.Fouda
Director (Nature Conservation Sector)
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So, I was faced with two problems, shall
I talk about people whom I know or talk
about some interesting subjects like
dangerous marine creatures, marine mammals,
and mangroves? The situation became
more complicated. If I choose to talk
about people, there are a spectrum of
them varying from my beloved professor
Hamed Abdel Fattah Gohar, King of the
Red Sea, to my students and people who
are sharing with me the responsibilities
of protecting the natural resources
of Egypt. The same thing applies for
the subjects dealing with the Red Sea
that I am familiar with or have worked
in for more than 30 years.
So, instead of getting relaxed on the
Eid Holiday, and the many ideas that
came to me and I made a proposal to
the magazine, that I should write my
ideas, each in a separate issue. So
my favorite article now will be the
Red Sea Rangers.
What do people know about Red Sea Rangers?
What are they doing? Many questions
need simple answers. First of all, we
need to know what our long term vision
for the Red Sea is… it is simply
transforming the whole Egyptian Red
Sea into the second largest Coral Reef
National Park, after Australia. Rangers
perform many duties, starting with protection
of the natural resources (law enforcement,
environmental impact assessment review
and implementation, revenue generation,
etc.), through rehabilitation and restoration
(e.g. mangrove restoration and crown
of thorn removal), wise use of resources
including recreational activities, scientific
research (e.g. coral reefs, mangroves,
turtles, birds, marine mammals such
as: dugong, dolphins, gazelles, ibex…etc.).
We perform all these duties to be able
to understand the Red Sea ecosystem
and hence enjoy the cultural and natural
heritage of the Red Sea.
How do we do our job? This is not a
simple answer, because the rangers are
supposed to be talented and perform
several duties. For example, he/ she
should collect data regularly, to be
analyzed at the Hurghada office to study
the trend of tourism for example. He/
she should be familiar with the problems
then constraints, and capable of dealing
with them. For example he/ she has to
deal with issues like coastal development
(construction, impact of touristic activities;
whether by tourists (breaking corals,
sitting on corals) or by boats (anchoring),
law enforcement, emergencies such as
boat accidents, illegal fishing, hunting
of falcons or gazelles.
 A
ranger can be involved in mooring installation
with the HEPCA team and at the same
time he and his colleagues observe other
activities and take immediate actions
if they are illegal. Some activities
are natural, not related to human, for
example, the ranger may be assigned
to observe turtles nesting, marine mammals
or birds and have to report on the status
of biodiversity for a specific species.
The job of ranger continues not only
in the field where he interacts with
investors, tourists, governmental officials...etc.
but also at the office where there are
several important units existing at
the headquarters in Hurghada. The most
important unit is public awareness unit
that involve in preparing CD’s,
brochures, lectures for children at
schools…etc. Another important
unit is the GIS unit that collects data,
analyze it, transforming it into knowledge
and prepare options for decision making.
Rangers at GIS unit apply the best available
technology. In the Southern Red Sea,
rangers are making significant contribution
towards development of local communities
at Shalatin (Gebel Elba), developing
and managing Wadi El-Gemal Protected
Areas or enforcing environmental regulations
in Koseir, Marsa Alam…etc. Some
of them together with the Governor of
the Red Sea - General Saad Abu Rida
succeeded in turning some Red Sea resources
that have been ignored for a long time
into economic resources. (Samaadi experience
which needs a special article) and succeeded
in sustainable development of these
resources.
Over the last few years, there were
less than 10 rangers, however they have
increased and are now very close to
100 rangers stationed in Hurghada, Safaga,
Koseir, Marsa Alam, Wadi El Gemal, and
Elba. Unfortunately, we have lost some
rangers, who died while performing their
duties (they are Ali Salam from Hurghada
and Mostafa Ramadan from Elba).
Our vision is to increase the number
of rangers to about 250 to be able to
perform their duties properly in the
Red Sea. We need more rangers to work
on land to deal with terrestrial wild
life, Safari for more protection in
both land and sea. That will necessitate
more infrastructures along the Red Sea,
more training for rangers and more equipment,
more means of communication and transportation.
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RED
SEA DEVELOPERS: FRIENDS OR FOES?
A
MESSAGE FROM HEPCA
·
WE DO NOT WANT LESS REEF,
WE WANT TO SAVE OUR REEFS.
· WE DO NOT WANT
LESS FISHING, WE WANT MORE
FISHING.
· WE DO NOT WANT
LESS FISH, WE WANT MORE
FISH.
· WE DO NOT WANT
LESS HOTELS, WE WANT MORE
HOTELS
· WE DO NOT WANT
FEWER TOURISTS, WE WANT
MORE TOURISTS.
· WE DO NOT WANT
LESS DEVELOPMENT, WE WANT
MORE DEVELOPMENT
·- WE WANT MORE OF
EVERYTHING BUT WE WANT TO
ACHIEVE IT IN A RESPONSIBLE
SUSTAINABLE MANNER WITH
A LONG TERM VISION THAT
WILL SAFE GUARD THE TREASURE
OF THE RED SEA FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS. |
 Current
development plans laid out for
the Red Sea coast line propose
a quick solution to bringing
investment and creating more
hotels and more projects. However
these plans do not take into
account the long term future
of the area and its development
for our future generations.
Simply building lots of hotels
along the coast line is not
the way forward. With the current
plan of development, we will
look around in a decade only
to find that we have run out
of coast line. A more responsible
approach is to carefully develop
the coast line, whilst promoting
the areas around it.
We want a stretch of beach to
be used by several hotels rather
than be fenced off by one, we
want jetties to be accessible
by all the hotels in a given
area, the vision will be to
create town centers along the
coast and not simply a mass
of hotels which would not just
close off the rest of the land
mass, but eliminate the hope
of further investment.
Town centers will create the
need for schools, hospitals,
social communities and much
more. This infrastructure will
open the door for more investment
that will fuel a local economy.
Thoughtful development will
create more investment, which
in turn will create more jobs,
which in turn will create more
business, and the whole cycle
is repeated again and again.
We do not want a slow down in
development or a scaling down
of any tourist project. On the
contrary, instead of building
one hotel, build three. Instead
of using an area to make one
investment opportunity, let’s
use this as a launching pad
for unlimited investment opportunities.
Previous examples are very clear
in Sharm and Hurghada.
Keeping the beaches free serves
another vital purpose; it saves
the most important natural recourse
that makes the Red Sea what
it is. That is the natural treasure
of the Red Sea, the corals the
fish and the entire ecosystem.
Saving this ecosystem is of
utmost importance for the long
term sustainability of the Red
Sea. Its existence brought the
millions of tourist in, and
its loss will probably mean
the loss of the tourists.
Egypt has been blessed by the
misfortune of the Sudan and
Eritrea. However when these
countries come into the competition
they be able to offer much more
spectacular marine life to its
tourists. This is another reason
why Egypt should try its best
to keep its reefs intact.
A precise valuation of the natural
resources of the Red Sea is
impossible to achieve. None
the less what is possible is
to realize that any damage to
the reef or ecosystem is unjustifiable,
especially from a financial
point of view. Damaging the
reefs for the sake of investors
is like throwing away the one
of the pyramids to build a hotel
over looking the sphinx. In
the long run it will always
make more financial sense to
preserve the environment. By
environment we mean coral and
fish.
An investor destroying reef
to make a lagoon for his guests
to swim is no different than
the fisherman who catches a
shark to sell it for 100 dollars.
They are both ignorant. The
fisherman has fished shark 10,000
sterling in economic value,
only to sell it for $100. The
investor has destroyed millions
of dollars worth of reef to
make a lagoon rather than make
a $ 2000 pool. The most ignorant
of all of course is the system
that allows them to do so.
Why the reef. Kill it and use
it like the Mediterranean. To
answer this question I have
to bore you with some facts.
A rich sea or a fishing ground
gets its life from the amount
of rivers that poor into it.
The Mediterranean for example
has several rivers flowing into
it, the amount of rain fall
it gets and the amount of floods
that bring nutrients into it.
Believe it or not the Mediterranean
is richer than the Red Sea.
Actually the Red Sea is one
of the poorest seas in the world.
The Red Sea exists in what is
known as a “hyper arid”
area which means there are no
rain falls, no rivers and very
rare floods. The only source
of nutrients in the Red Sea
is the coral reefs. Simply speaking,
a coral reef of the Red Sea
is alike an oasis in the Grand
Sahara.
The coral reef is known to be
a net productive system which
means it gives more to the environment
than it takes. The coral reef
system is the only system that
keeps this sea alive. What is
really going to shock you is
that the reefs of the Egyptian
Red Sea represent no more than
0.1 percent of the total area.
Imagine that, less than 0.1
percent and it is the source
of all the fish and life that
we see.
The truth is far more impressive
than this. The area of the reef
that provides all the nutrients
and the see life is actually
only 0.01 percent of the total
area of the Red Sea. Because
90% of the total reef area is
fringing reef or back reef.
That is the area behind the
reef which acts as a support
to the actual live reef. Without
this fringe reef the reef will
perish. That is why we argue
that construction should never
happen.
The fish in the Red Sea are
mostly born close to the reef.
They nurse on the reef, feeding
on it and taking nutrients while
they grow. Once they are big
enough to hunt and roam the
seas they leave the nursing
grounds and head to the open
ocean. Without the reef, fish
will have no shelter and no
nutrients. Depriving the fish
from the reef is like depriving
a baby from his mother and her
milk.
A good example is the fish catch
in Hurghada. Many of those here
have been fishing in Hurghada
one time or another. You have
probably realized that the catch
in the area is not what it used
to be. If you ask the fishermen
they tell you that the fish
have moved south. The truth
is that the nursing grounds
for certain types of fish in
Hurghada have been destroyed.
The chicken and the golden egg.
A paradigm of urban planning:
Planners in Egypt are planning
the tourist centers based on
the asphalt road which already
exists. By any standard that
is not only wrong, it is actually
comic. Simply because a few
decades ago some genius planner
laid a road with no proper study
of the surrounding area, we
are now faced with haphazard
development. Doesn’t it
make much more sense to move
the road and develop the coast
line properly?
The argument
that “investors are only
interested in investing if they
are given spots on the shore
line” does not stand,
look at the Sharm example. It
is in the interest of Egypt
to get the conscious investor
that cares for the surroundings
he is working in. Investors
who want to destroy the natural
resources of the country should
not be encouraged. Ecologically
conscious investors will not
only benefit the current needs
of the Egyptian economy, they
will also ensure a sustainable
future for development along
the coast.
If 10 years from now an investor
comes to invest in the south
and finds all the coast line
blocked by hotels it will not
be appealing. However, if he
finds beaches accessible to
all he will be encouraged to
build and invest.
A good illustration of what
we are trying to achieve is
a simple comparison of the development
of two bays Marsa Shagara and
Marsa Tunduba. In the bay of
Marsa Shagara the beach access
is limited to one operator Red
Sea Diving Safari. It is not
interesting for any more investors
to build projects in the area
as the access to the beach and
jetty will have to be through
Red Sea Diving Safari. On the
contrary, Marsa Tuduba, developed
in coordination with the Governor
of the Red Sea General Saad
Abu Reda, has been setup so
that six spots of land far from
the beach can share the resources
of the bay. All the six projects
have access to the jetty and
the beautiful coral reef covering
the bay. Each of these six operations
can grow to be as big as the
Red Sea Diving Safari operation.
And the entire area is available
for more café’s
and restaurants to be opened
for the catering of the community
which is created by having the
tourists share the beach front.
That is six times the amount
of investment for the same amount
of resources. If it is decided
that more investment is required
for the area, more spots of
land can be developed around
Marsa Tundoba.
Given that the construction
of the Tunduba project is far
away from the beach front, damage
to the reef is limited and none
of the investors has the desire
to destroy the reef to access
the deep water.
The Hurghada
Example:
2.9 million sqm of reef was
destroyed in Hurghada for the
development of the projects
on the coast. According to the
international formulas of reef
cost calculation this is worth
350 billion dollars, it will
take the projects 400 years
to recover this money. I am
not sure how we calculate return
on investment but I do not think
400 years is a good deal.
Although only 1/6th of all the
tourists coming to Egypt are
here for diving and water activities.
This 1/6th generates half of
the net income of the tourism
industry.
What
do we want?
- Stop messing with coast line.
- Move 200 meters away from
the shore.
- Stop Think and Act.
- Halt all new leasing land
along the coast.
- Acquire a complete holistic
urban development plan for the
entire area by a recognized
international consulting company
that will plan for tourist centers
with a sustainable development
approach. This type of development
will cater for the number of
rooms and amount of development
to the carrying capacity of
the beaches and the reefs in
the area. Such a study will
cost a mere 50 K USD per city
center …which is not a
big price to pay to save the
Red Sea.
Doubling the room capacity for
Egypt by the year 2014 as the
Minister of Tourism has declared,
we can easily calculate that
in every area development will
need to be doubled, but some
areas will not double, so the
development/ expansion will
be mostly concentrated on the
Red Sea, we will assume that
Marsa Alam will triple in number.
The current figures for rooms
in Marsa Alam are 3000 rooms.
If we want it to be 9000 in
2014 we should not use up the
entire coast line. We should
rather make city centers that
will allow us to reach these
figures by using as little of
the coast line a possible. For
example the Gouna project has
the capacity for 3000 rooms
today and it uses far less of
the coast line than the 3000
rooms of the Marsa Alam projects.
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Corals
transplantation as management
tools for corals degradation
By:
Mohamed Ibrahim Habib
(Environment Committee Coordinator)
 Over
the past decade, numerous
studies and reviews have clearly
demonstrated that coral reefs
have a significant economic
value, the value relates to
the beauty, productivity and
structure of the corals, also
colorful fishes surrounding
corals, corals reefs are fascinating
in their biological and ecological
complexity, their role in
maintaining the environmental
balance in the marine systems
are indeed at the global level
just beginning to be understood.
Their beauty serves as an
irresistible attraction to
tourists, and as such they
are an important source of
revenue especially for undeveloped
economies. In addition, scientists
are beginning to explore their
anti-microbial and anti –viral
prosperities for use in medicine.
From the above information
we can understand some of
the values of corals in the
Red Sea which are considered
among the most beautiful in
the world. The total length
of the Egyptian Red Sea coast
is about 1705 km, of this
760km is the Red Sea government
coast, some industries, urban
& tourism centers are
located along the Red Sea
coast, in Hurghada, Safaga,
El Hamraween, Qusier, Marsa
Allam and Wadi El Gemal.
From the above mentioned developments,
damage to the reefs can be
direct, in the form of snorkellers,
divers, boats, mining, sewage,
land filling, dredging and
more importantly the yearly
beach replenishing with sand
which abrade, smoothing corals
and increase turbidity. As
we can see tourism is the
main source for development
in the Red Sea and it has
a double edged sword - increase
the Egyptian economy &
degraded coral reefs along
the Red Sea coast.
In the last few years many
efforts started in different
countries to rehabilitate
damaged reefs to bring back
some reef to life again by
the following methods: -Stabilizing
the substrate (corals ground),
which was destroyed by illegal
fishing practices with concrete
mats, onto which new corals
settled.
-Transplantation of living
corals colonies to re-seed
area.
-Electrically stimulated corals
growth enhancement.
-Larval reseeding.
-Corals fragment re-seeding.
-Community based corals farming.
Those rehabilitation methods
are expensive, labor intensive
and if transplantation is
attempted, can result in high
mortality of transplants.
 From
15 years ago Red Sea investors
did not realize that tourists
coming to enjoy sun, beach
& naturals corals. They
land filled the fringing reef/
house reef, dredged a marina
and added new sand to the
natural beach. Eventually
they understood that tourists
go to the resorts with natural
beaches, so they start to
think what we should do?
One option which is cost –effective
method to rehabilitate the
destroyed house reefs in front
of Red Sea resorts is to create
new artificial reef - Reef
Balls. Reef balls are the
state-of-the-art-designed
artificial reefs used primarily
to restore damaged reef or
to create new reefs for ecological
enhancement, fishing, scuba
diving, beach erosion protection
and many other specific and
useful goals.
Reef balls have been used
in over 1000 projects worldwide
with over 100,000 reef balls
deployed and functioning as
reef ecosystems. Major variables
which are often considered
as part of this process include
site selection, number and
sizes of reef balls to be
used, layout of the reef balls,
and specific design features.
 The
site selection process includes
pre-selection bottom surveys
by divers to assess pre-existing
habitats, bottom composition,
and depth below sand to sand
bottom and other factors that
insure the reef will function
properly.
Site selection is perhaps
the most important factor
that contributes to a successful
reef-building project.
Coral transplantation may
be the answer, it is certainly
worth the consideration by
all stakeholders.
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Environment: