Bridgetown Port is undergoing a transformation to enable it to accommodate Mega cruise ships. This entails dredging to deepen the docking area. The area however is home to hundreds of species of corals which would have perished had it not been for the combined efforts of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, the Barbados Marine Trust the Fisheries Division and the Barbados national Union of Fisherfolk Organizations (Barnufo)
Corals were carefully removed and transplanted to various sites around the island. Several were and relocated to a reef on the west coast which had been damaged by a mega yacht. Some others (pictured here) were moved to Coconut Court to be transplanted onto the south coast reef.

The Corals will be glued down onto the reef by a solution of cement, epoxy and plaster of paris. This process is still in the experimental stage and careful monitoring will be required to ensure that the corals survive. Pictured are the Members of the Marine Trust transporting the corals from the port in coolers and careful placing them underwater inside the breakwater until they can be glued to the reef.

In order to ensure that the corals do not roll around in the sea they have been cemented to concrete slabs. (The slabs were taken from the Pavilion building which is due to be renovated shortly) This is an experimental process and the corals have been cemented in place using a mixture of 1 part each of sand, cement and plaster of paris. The mixture is allowed to dry while ensuring that the corals are kept wet-since they are animals and will die without water.

They are then floated out to an area inside the breakwater and will be monitored until they are safe enough to move onto the reef on the other side of the breakwater.

The team went out again on Saturday night to capture some of the Crabs and Lobsters which were trapped in the area to be dredged. They caught several Crabs and Lobsters and transported them in coolers to Coconut Court Beach Resort where they released them onto the reef. Photos above show St. Patrick Blanch and Mark Blades ( with the help of some of the guests) releasing the Lobsters and Crabs on the reef at Coconut Court Beach Resort.

This Puffer Fish caused a stir by floating up on to the beach and refusing to go back in! Patrick caught him and carefully put him in a bucket to avoid injury and carried him out over the breakwater where he swam away happily!	Members of BARNUFO( Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organisation) and Hotel Guests assisting with the cementing and transplanting corals. The Garrison Secondary School also visited the hotel to learn about this new method of saving corals and to see the Turtle nesting habitat.