Restore Corals for 400 Fisherfolks in Wasini

The Wasini Coral Monitoring Mission was undertaken on 7th and 8th September 2023. A team  constitutiing four members was estabished to undertake the mission. The team was composed of a marine ecologist, diver, a monitoring and evaluation expert and a community mobilization specialist.

Day 1: The team began their mission by visiting the State Department of Fisheris and the Warden, Kenya Wildife Service (Kisite and Mpunguti Marine Reserve) at Shimoni to inform them of our mission and to gather any relevant information regarding the fisheries activities within the Shimoni channel. They two offices noted that the fishery resource had improved significantly to support fishing and tourusm activities.

After the meetings, the team proceeded to meet the Wasini Coral Transplant Committee, led by the Chair of the Wasini Beach Managent Unit (BMU). During the meeting with the committee, which was attended by three men and four women, the the team were taken through the process of coral transplant which includes community sensitization, identifying suitable sites for harvesting corals for nursery establishment, identifying suitable areas for rehabiltation, building of coral blocks, setting of the nursery bed under water, harvesting of coral cuttings for nursery establishment, preparation of disks, populating the nursery bed, transplanting and monitoring of the progress of growth of the corals.

The team was also updated on the progress in the past year and the challenges the committee faces in undertaking the coral transplant project. They informed the team that had built 12 coral blocks, set up a nursery, and done transplanting of the mature corals. The activities were not devoid of challenges which included the lack of diving equipment, inconsistent funding to undertake monitoring for the first 4months after coral transplant, and climate variations which affect the survival rate of the tranplanted corals.

After the meeting, the team and the community members prepared three coral blocks for anchoring the coral disks when transplanting the corals, harvested coral materials for establishing in the nursery, and monitoring of previously set nurseries to determine if it would be used to establish new corals. From the observations made, the previously coral nursery bed required replacement of the mesh wire to place the disks and plant young corals. The coral survival rate was observed to be over 85 while the fish population had increased in areas where coral restoration had been done. Women were actively engaged in coral restoration where they assisted in building coral blocks, making disks, preparation of the corals to be planted, and supporting the diving team.

Recommendations

1. The project needs to pick GPS coordinates for the specific site that the community is working on.
2. Source for funding to support the community with diving equipment. 
3. Support the community members undertake frequent monitoring.
4. There is need to involve the youth in the project for sustainability. 
5. Expanding the eco-tourism component of the project by exploring the possibilty of involving more home owners with rooms for homestays.

Links:

• Wasini Coral Trasplant Photo Album

Last Monitoring Mission: Wednesday 14^th June 2023, 8. AM, EAT 

There has been a total of 7 monitoring missions on the Wasini coral garden. The monitoring missions are undertaken by a team of three individuals and usually take between 45 minutes and an hour during early morning when the tide is low, and the coral garden is easily visible. Monitoring missions focus on monitoring illegal activities, the progress in growth of the corals, the abundance of fish at the site, as well as physically removing materials (plastics, etc) that may damage the coral or hinder coral growth.

The corals have grown and there were clear indications of a return of an abundance of fish at the garden. They, however, still require monitoring and care before reaching the stage they can survive on their own. The team undertaking the monitoring missions records the monitoring activities in the form of pictures and videos, but since the beginning of the year the underground camera they use had broken down.

There was a discussion with locals and fisheries experts on using frames instead of blocks as a foundation for the coral garden. Both the locals and the fisheries experts agreed that the current and turbulence within the Shimoni channel favours the blocks than the use of frames.

 Challenges

1. The high cost of boat fuel has limited the number of patrols and monitoring activities.
2. Diving equipment is hired for every coral monitoring mission. This also limits the number of monitoring activities that can be undertaken at the garden.
3. Lack of underwater camera has made it difficult to record and account for the restoration progess. The team hired a camera during the last monitoring mission on Wednesday 14^th June 2023.

Appeal

There are few activities that can be undertaken at the site between April to end of August. This is usually the rainy season, and the Shimoni channel is turbulent. The channel will be less turbulent from August to March.

We plan to expand the garden, buy an underwater camera and diving equipment. We estimate that these will require at least USD 5,000 to cover the expansion of the coral garden (at least two clusters), purchase of the monitoring equipment and meet the cost of monitoring missions. We also plan to start marketing the coral garden to potential visitors who may wish to dive and snorkel.

Appreciation  

We would wish to thank from the bottom of our heart all those who have supported our efforts in restoring the reef at Wasini. We believe you will continue supporting us and encourage others to join us in this journey.

We also appreciate your feedback, as this is an indication of your concern and encouragement.

Links:

• Coral monitoring mission on Wednesday 14th June 2023
• Wasini Album - Pictures and Videos