Scuba Divers Go Down in Lockdown to Plant Coral in Great Barrier Reef

An Australian scuba diving company has been making use of their free time during the coronavirus lockdown by planting coral in the world’s biggest coral reef system – the Great Barrier Reef.

Part of the Coral Nurture Program, a scientist and four diving crews from the family-owned company Passions of Paradise have so far helped plant over 1,000 pieces of coral on Hastings Reef, one of nearly 3,000 reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef.

According to Lorna Howlett, project coordinator and PhD student at the University of Technology Sydney, this is the first time a method known as “coral clipping” has been used to attach corals to the reef.

“Coral clipping involves finding fragments of opportunity – coral fragments that have naturally broken off – and attaching them back on to the reef using a coral clip,” explains Howlett, adding that four other local reef tour companies are participating in the program – the first of its kind where tourism companies work alongside researchers in the Great Barrier Reef.