Blog
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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Blacktips and Whitetips and Silvertips, Oh My!
Day 7 of our underwater journey celebrating coral reefs ends with the apex predator and their value to coral reefs worldwide: reef sharks. Sharks are commonly misunderstood and widely feared. These remarkable animals, however, are valuable to the tourism industry and the economic health of coral reef destinations. A report from the Australian Institute of…
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Tourism & Marine Protected Areas
Day 6 of our underwater journey continues with marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs help protect fish living on coral reefs by safeguarding certain types of fish that are vital to the reef’s ecosystem. However, creating a management program costs money and many of them do not have adequate staffing or financial resources to be effective.…
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Grouper, Local Fisheries & Marine Protected Areas
Day 5 of our underwater journey continues with groupers, local fisheries and marine protected areas. Five hundred million people around the world depend on reef fish and other animals for food and income. In addition to providing a significant source of protein for up to a billion people, coral reef fish support commercial and artisanal…
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Conservation Action: Through the Eyes of Communities
Day 4 of our underwater journey continues with Tulamben and Amed—two small fishing villages in Bali, Indonesia that were featured in our 2015 Annual Report. Dive tourism, fishing and farming are the lifeblood of Tulamben and Amed, and there is a deep concern about the health and management of local coral reefs. Because of these…
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One Person Can Make a Difference
Day 2 of our underwater journey continues with Paulo Kolikata, a Fijian fisherman from Kubulau and our 2015 CORAL Conservation Prize Winner. Individuals, like you or me, can profoundly impact components of the natural world – and that is particularly true with coral reefs. Over five hundred million people depend on coral reefs to support…
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Hard Corals, Nature’s Seawalls
Day 1 of our underwater journey starts with hard corals and how they protect our coastlines. Healthy reefs act as natural barriers that protect coastal cities, communities and beaches from pounding ocean waves. Without coral reefs, many beaches and buildings would become vulnerable to waves and storm damage. And with increasing storm intensity predicted as…
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The Long Road to Recovery
It was early Sunday morning, in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston. No one knew the full extent of the damage it had left behind. Scattered reports were coming through the little transistor radio my mum kept for emergencies, and for the days and weeks that followed, it would prove to be an incredibly valuable…
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Protecting More Coral Reefs in Fiji
It’s a hot, humid day and I’m visiting the village of Waivunia on the island of Vanua Levu in Fiji. I’m sitting around a kava bowl with community elders, and we are discussing how to protect and conserve their marine resources. You see, this community depends on coral reefs, but the reefs are facing mounting…
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News from the Field: A Bright Spot in Indonesia
I spent September in Indonesia working with our field staff and visiting our partner communities in Karangasem and Buleleng in northern Bali. While there, I was invited to visit some coral reefs off the West coast of Sulawesi. It was rumored that some areas had 100 percent live coral cover, so I jumped at the…