Abstract

Grenada like most of the island in the Caribbean Region had seen the deterioration on their coral reefs including the loss of Acroporid corals (i.e. Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata) which were the most important reef building coral species. In order to combat the further degradation of the coral reef in Grenada, the Grenada Coral Reef Foundation (GCRF) partnered with the Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA) to introduce Biorock® at two pilot sites in Grenada (i.e. Gouyave & Carriacou). Biorocktechnology in the simplest terms utilizes a low voltage current to facilitate mineral accre-tion (CaCO3) on specially fabricated steel artificial reef structures onto which coral fragments are then propagated. The electrified structures have proven very successful in restoring reefs at a number of sites around the world by accelerating coral growth, recruitment and enhancing resistance and survival of reef organisms to environmental stressors (e.g. sedimen-tation, pollution, elevated ocean temperatures). This paper outlines the process of establishing sixteen Biorock® structures using community volunteers and explore the benefit of the technology at the pilot sites by examining the growth rate for selected corals species on the Biorock® structures versus the same species on a natural reef over a period of six months.

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