After a recent vessel grounding on the eastern end of Elizabeth Harbour, the Exuma community rescued hundreds of corals from the rubble in hopes of saving the reef. In March the Elizabeth Harbour Conservation Partnership partnered with Plant A Fish and Science Under Sail to form a plan to build a coral nursery to grow the endangered species, elkhorn and staghorn corals, and eventually “plant” them and other rescued coral species in the area that was damaged by the wreck.

Fabien Cousteau, director of Plant A Fish, visited Exuma in April with project manager, Elisabeth Jacobi, to kick off the reef restoration project. The project relied on the expertise of Dr. Robin Smith, a coral biologist and director of Science Under Sail to lead the effort to build the nursery. The team was supported by Catherine Booker and Howard Bethel of the EHCP as well as Jonathan Robinson of Dive Exuma, and staff from the Department of Environmental Health Services (Tristan Adderley, Geo Rolle, and Bradley Charlton). The action was captured by Seth Greenspan, an independent filmaker, Sara Kerens, a professional photographer, and Jerah Coviello of Science Under Sail. The project will be featured in Seth’s documentary on threatened coral reefs and restoration projects around the world.

If you are interested in supporting this project, please contact Plant A Fish. The Exuma project will be featured on their new website, coming soon!