U.S. Embassy joined RMI EPA and College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) team on Friday November 27 for the Coral Relocation project phase II. After moving the coral from the dredging site associated with the airport runway extension to a protected area during phase I, the coral now needs to be “planted” in cement forms to prevent them drifting away with the current.
The other threat is bleaching. CMI’s Karl Fellenius explained: “with the high water temperatures we have had in the last couple of months, some of the coral in that area has “bleached” and unfortunately the relocated coral has not escaped the fate.” Only the most resistant species are still alive and well and we’ll continue to work to protect this beautiful resource!
