Australia

As the marine tourism industry in North

Under the supervision of Professor Dave Suggett and Dr Emma Camp of the University of Technology Sydney, Passions staff have spent the last 18 months refining their techniques, resulting in the planting of over 4,500 coral fragments at three dive sites on Hastings Reef. The Coral Nurture Programme is a new approach for the Great Barrier Reef and a globally unique partnership between tourism and science. Passions of Paradise first joined the programme in May 2019 and is part of a team of six other local operators participating in the scaling stage of the programme. As one of the key participants in this groundbreaking study, Passions of Paradise has been able to strengthen its commitment to conservation and sustainable area management. The programme is part of a larger management strategy that also includes crown-of-thorns starfish eradication and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s ‘Eye on Reef’ monitoring programme. Managing Director of Passions of Paradise, Alan Wallish, has made conservation and site stewardship his main priority since founding the company in 1989.

“The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing ecosystem and a vital natural wonder,” says Alan. “It has always been in our best interest to look after the long-term sustainability and health of our reef sites. We have had to contend with a lot of impacts in the last 30 years: Mass bleaching events, cyclones, crown-of-thorns outbreaks. But the reef is an amazingly resilient ecosystem, and through management techniques at the federal, state, and local levels, we have the opportunity to continue showcasing this amazing ecosystem to our guests.”

While the idea of farming and planting coral is not new, the Coral Nurture Programme takes an innovative approach in the way coral is attached to the reef floor. A patented Coralclip (developed by Programme co-founder John Edmondson of Wavelength Reef Cruises), a 25mm masonry nail with a stainless-steel wire attached to it, is driven into the limestone bedrock of the reef. Coral fragments, either harvested from coral fragments detached from the reef and on the seabed or from one of Passions’ ten nurseries, are then placed under the wire after a quick brush to remove any sand or algae. The coral fragment then sits under pressure, immobilised, and after approximately six weeks, will hopefully

The Great Barrier Reef is home to countless species including six species of turtles, 215 species of birds, 17 species of sea snakes and more than 1,500 species of fish! 10% of the world’s total fish species can be found within the Great Barrier Reef!

Photographs by SOTA YAMAGUCHI Author: Russell Hosp

have cemented itself to the limestone rock and started the process of growing a new colony.

Professor Dave Suggett, the lead researcher and cofounder of the project, has been looking for ways to increase conservation on the reef for years.

“The genesis of the Coral Nurture Programme has been via research into ways to speed up coral planting, which led to the testing of Coralclip,” explains Dave. “This patented device is a small clip that enables a diver to attach a coral fragment or larval settlement unit to the reef in just a few seconds. This avoids the need for messy and laborious chemical fixatives that have long been favoured to re-attach corals to the reef. An experienced diver can plant over 100 corals using Coralclip in a dive. A team of eight divers can potentially plant up to 3,200 corals in a day, with a target cost of $1 per successful coral colony.”

Dave is quick to point out that this approach is not intended to replace coral on a reef-wide scale. “The intended scale is multiple, geographically separate, individual locations across the Great Barrier Reef, of around one to two hectares each with ongoing coral planting when appropriate, rather than a once-off effort. Scale is achieved through collective actions of the tourism operators – who

are simply amazing in their efforts for positive change to reef conditions”

So where do these coral fragments come from? While many fragments come from Passions’ 10 on-site nurseries, coral planting can sometimes be done without the need for a coral nursery. As Dave explains, “On a healthy reef with reasonable coral cover, it is normal to have some broken coral. In the same way that old trees can fall in a forest and break surrounding vegetation, large colonies of fragile coral are vulnerable to damage in rough weather. Fish such as bumphead parrotfish can also be quite destructive when they are feeding.”

“Loose coral fragments (called ‘fragments of opportunity’) sometimes re-attach, but this is often prevented by wave action; they may fall onto another coral colony or fall onto sand and ultimately be smothered. The easiest source of coral fragments that can be planted is from regularly collecting these broken fragments and planting them securely in places where they have room to grow well.”

What types of corals are ideal for this type of planting? As it turns out, there are strict permit conditions about collecting and planting these ‘opportunity’ corals. Dave explains that, while all corals are feasible, certain coral colonies are of particular interest. “Finding coral fragments from corals that have survived coral bleaching, where their neighbours have died, has potential to be a meaningful way of slowly, but methodically, increasing the prevalence of the corals that are already adapted to that site, what we call ‘survivor corals’.”

For Passions of Paradise CEO Scott Garden, the Coral Nurture Programme is a natural extension of the company’s long-term commitment to sustainability.

“We’ve taken massive steps over the last 20 years to promote ourselves at the benchmark when it comes to responsible ecotourism,” says Scott. “We have been an eco-accredited product since the mid-nineties and have spent the time since constantly looking for new and exciting ways to promote sustainability. We have been involved in numerous scientific endeavours through about a dozen different universities. We have worked with the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society promoting awareness regarding the plight of sharks worldwide and have even set up a scholarship to encourage new generations of scientists to become active in shark conservation. We became carbon neutral in 2013 and work extensively with the Rainforest Conservation Foundation in the Daintree to help replant native vegetation, an endeavour that has earned us the status of ‘Climate Action Leader’ from Ecotourism Australia.”

Alan and Scott have gone on several of the coral planting expeditions and have together planted almost 500 pieces of coral together.

“It’s really fulfilling,” says Alan. “You have these little corals, and just like in a garden, you protect them from predators, monitor their progress - you really feel an investment in watching them as they get bigger.”

Scott agrees. “The satisfying part is checking for signs that the coral fragments have finally adhered to the limestone bedrock. Once we see signs of that, it’s almost certain that we will have a new colony start growing.

The Great Barrier Reef is greater is size than Tasmania and Victoria combined! For context, that is the size of 70 million football fields…

And the growth rates can be mind-blowing. While many species of coral take decades to grow to a decent-sized colony, some of them seem to almost grow right in front of your eyes.” Managing all of these activities on the vessel is Passions of Paradise’s Environmental Manager Russell Hosp. Originally from the United States, Russell started diving the reef back in 2003 as a university student. With a background in sustainable tourism, Passions of Paradise, and in particular the Coral Nurture Programme, was a perfect fit.

“I fell in love with the reef on my first-ever dive. It’s an amazing, inspiring ecosystem,” says Russell. “I instantly knew that I wanted to spend my whole adult life working on the reef and being involved in its conservation. I incidentally did my first-ever dive on the original Passions boat, and what blew me away were the company’s values - the commitment to sustainability and environmentalism. After meeting with Alan and Scotty, I knew instantly that this organisation was the real deal, that these were two owners who practiced what they preached. I’ve been lucky to have many roles within the company, and when they made me ‘Environmental Manager’ in 2013, I felt like that was the first step towards all of us really gearing towards these types of long-term projects. I’ve been with the company 13 years now, and the Coral Nurture Programme is hopefully the first of many more conservation efforts we can spearhead.”

The Coral Nurture Programme has been such a boon not just to the reef, but to Passions as a company, that Russell is starting a PhD in Sustainable Area Management next year.

“My focus will be in the brand-new field of Regenerative Tourism,” says Russell. “It’s the idea that a sustainable tourism economy allows the resource to be managed and used responsibly and indefinitely - so that jobs, biodiversity and traditional cultural values are sustained. In a regenerative tourism economy, we’re looking to improve those factors any way we can. Activities like the coral nurture program allow us to do that. The main idea is that ‘Mother Nature’ can fix herself - all she needs is a little boost from us as a human race. Tourism, especially ecotourism, provides the perfect avenue to give that boost.”

Russell has the support of Alan and Scott in this endeavour, and the Coral Nurture Programme will hopefully be the start of some big projects in the company’s future. n

With regular flights via Singapore, the Maldives is a great destination for Australians to start planning for now. Best known for its luxury resorts and romantic over-water bungalows, the Maldives is also one of the world’s greatest diving destinations.

These Indian Ocean atolls are surrounded by deep water and attract large numbers of pelagic creatures, including whalesharks, turtles, sharks, dolphins, the largest aggregations of reef mantas and nurse sharks in the world, and 21 species of cetaceans.

The Maldives reopened its borders back in July 2020, and since December has allowed entry to visitors who present a negative PCR test for COVID-19 on arrival.

The test and negative PCR certificate must be issued no more than 96 hours prior to departure, clearly showing the name and address of the laboratory, as well as the date of the sample taken, regardless of your vaccination status.

The result needs to be attached to the Traveller Health Declaration form, which must be submitted online within the 24 hours prior to arrival. Visitors are asked to download the national contact tracing app, TraceEkee, and use it during their journey. These restrictions were temporarily dropped for fully vaccinated travellers earlier in the year but have since been reintroduced.

Visitors are allowed to split stays between hotels. However, if you spend more than 48 hours in the Greater Malé area, you must take another PCR test before moving elsewhere. Those who are not fully vaccinated are permitted to stay in guest accommodation in local islands provided that 60 percent of the population, including 90 percent of over-65s and 95 percent of tourism staff, are fully vaccinated.

Temperature checks and screening procedures are in place on arrival, and travellers presenting symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival will be subjected to a PCR test at the traveller’s cost or at the cost of the tourist facility where the traveller is booked to stay in the Maldives.

• Negative PCR test result and certificate • Proof of full vaccination • Travel Insurance • Download TraceEkee App • Traveller Health Declaration Form • Travel Voucher for pre-booked accommodation and/or cruise Testing services are available in the Maldives for tourists who need COVID-19 test results to return to their countries of origin or another destination. Talk to your accommodation provider for details.

Traveller Health Declaration Form: imuga.immigration.gov. mv/ethd/create Latest Travel Bans Information: travelbans.org/asia/maldives/ TraceEkee: search on Apple App Store or Google Play Apps

Travelling post-Covid can be hard to negotiate, so for peace of mind, we recommend booking with an experienced travel agent to help navigate all the exit, transit, and entry requirements. Visit Diveplanit.com for more information, email us on enquire@diveplanit.com or call us on 1800 607 913 Diveplanit.com