Coral reef restoration in the Gulf of Eilat

"Like many of the world’s coral reefs, the Gulf of Eilat reef system in the northern Red Sea has been severely degraded by a combination of anthropogenic pressures and changing global conditions. Due to its increasing fragility and inability to cope with further disturbances, the Eilat reef has been targeted for active restoration. Citing the ineffectiveness and impracticality of traditional coral transplantation techniques, project planners developed and implemented a new “coral gardening” method at Eilat. In situ, floating coral gardens were created using a flexible rope net to which coral fragments were affixed. Safe from predation and disturbance, the coral fragments quickly matured and were then transplanted into denuded areas of the reef. Observations thus far indicate that the gardening technique holds promise for quickly rearing adaptable, resilient coral gardens without causing heavy damage to donor sites or wasting time and resources on transplantation efforts that ultimately fail."