A first attempt of incorporating coral restoration by a hotel industry following a beach and lagoon rehabilitation work in Mauritius

Mauritius is a famous touristic destination and is currently facing a serious decline in coral reefs and overall marine biodiversity. In response to the ongoing damage to coral reefs and the consequences on sand erosion, hotel... [ view full abstract ]

Mauritius is a famous touristic destination and is currently facing a serious decline in coral reefs and overall marine biodiversity. In response to the ongoing damage to coral reefs and the consequences on sand erosion, hotel industries have started to engage on beach and lagoonal rehabilitation works as well as coral farming as being a major part of conservation strategies. The project consisted of two parts. First, corals and marine organisms were removed along three (10 m by 10 m) area labelled Reef 1, Reef 2 and Reef 3 to accommodate Permeable Submerged Breakwaters (PSBs) made of basaltic rocks inside the lagoon to act as a barrier for sand erosion. Line intercept transect (LIT) method was used to assess the percentage coral cover prior to removal process. They were placed on special designed table nurseries and were carefully monitored for 1 month before transplantation. The second part involved the transplantation of corals on special artificial reef structures placed next to the PSBs as well as assessment of natural recruits on the basaltic rocks and the artificial reef structures post construction phase. The overall percentage survivorship so far has been 95% with very few bleaching. The natural recruits were observed only on the natural basaltic rocks as compared to the artificial cement-made artificial reef structures. One of the major aspect of this project has been to demonstrate the sustainable approach towards placement of artificial structures to prevent sand erosion while incorporating the ecological criteria.