Coral Larvae Dispersed to Save Coral Reefs in Okinawa

The coral reefs in Okinawa may recover from the brink of extinction if the world's first experiment of its kind succeeds in the waters off-shore of the new port of Naha.

In cooepration with the Okinawa Development Agency, the Akajima Marine Science Laboratory (AMSL) recently launched an experiment with the dispersion of 2 million coral larvae in a joint study with TETRA Co.,Ltd.(Tokyo). The coral eggs gathered near Akajima Island, Zamami Village, were
cultivated to larvae of 3-4 days old in specially designed floating pen. The purpose of this experiment is to get the larvae to attach to and live in the coral in high densities.

These coral reefs have been seriously affected by the influx of red soil from land-based agriculture as well as from coral bleaching If this experiment succeeds it may be a model for coral recovery in other locations.



Posted: 2002/08/26 03:02:49 PM
Japanese version