{"id":192133,"date":"2023-12-13T11:22:46","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=192133"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:22:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:22:46","slug":"second-phase-of-coral-restoration-set-for-barbuda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/second-phase-of-coral-restoration-set-for-barbuda\/","title":{"rendered":"Second phase of coral restoration set for Barbuda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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https:\/\/divemagazine.com\/: OceanShot and PADI announce 2024 \u2018Blue Lab\u2019 and reef expansion projects<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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By\u00a0DIVE Staff<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

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Coral restoration organisation,\u00a0OceanShot<\/a>, has announced the next phase of its reef restoration project on an underwater\u00a0panel shared with PADI<\/a>\u00a0at the recent\u00a0Global Citizen Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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OceanShot co-founders, climate scientist Dr Deborah Brosnan and billionaire philanthropist John Paul DeJoria, joined\u00a0PADI CEO and President<\/a>, Dr Drew Richardson; the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, Gaston Browne; and the Global Citizen Forum founder Armand Arton, for the panel.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0discussion\u00a0<\/a>centred around the need for cross-sector collaboration across tech, government, science, and entrepreneurs; and announced OceanShot\u2019s next coral reef deployment, plus plans to break ground on the new OceanShot Lab in Antigua.<\/p>

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OceanShot \u2013 designed to promote the concept of restoring reef ecosystems and the many habitats and services that they provide \u2013 was launched by Dr Brosnan and Mr DeJoria in 2022, with the pair creating partnerships with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, PADI and the Global Citizens Forum in the process.<\/p>

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Over the course of the next year, the project expanded to include 16 coral nursery trees growing over 3,000 fragments from nine coral species, ready for outplanting into the first batch of OceanShot\u2019s pH-neutral reef modules, deployed off the coast of Barbuda in October 2022.<\/p>\n

Cameras deployed on the ocean floor have subsequently shown that 36 species of fish have moved into the newly created habitats, along with many key invertebrates such as lobsters and octopus.<\/p>

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\u2018Talking about the importance of our oceans, in the ocean, is unique, and it brings home our powerful connection to the sea,\u2019 said Dr Brosnan. \u2018It\u2019s quite simple: no oceans, no us is a fact.<\/p>\n

\u2018The sea provides 50 per cent of the planet\u2019s oxygen and has absorbed 90 per cent of the excess heat from climate change. If we protect nature, she protects us \u2013 and our reefs show that so well.\u2019<\/p>

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The new OceanShot Living Lab announced during the underwater forum is being constructed on Antigua and Barbuda, ready to test new technologies for reefs and marine life and help create solutions for other island nations to deploy. The second of OceanShot\u2019s tailor-made coral modules is scheduled to be deployed in 2024 and \u2013 as with the first \u2013 will engage local communities, coral reef biologists, and coastal engineers to assist with the design<\/p>

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\u2018With 8 billion people on the industrialised planet now, the future of the world\u2019s ocean has never been more dependent on our decisions and actions to prioritise ocean life support \u2013 as humanity and ocean are both vulnerable and both codependent,\u2019 said Dr Richardson.<\/p>\n

\u2018By partnering with leaders from OceanShot, Global Citizen Forum and Antigua & Barbuda, we are committing to inspiring more innovative and positive solutions for the health of coral reefs, the ocean and our joint futures on this shared blue planet.\u2019<\/p>\n

OceanShot aims to design solutions that are transferable, scalable, and deployed to other nations, and already the project is expanding further into Antigua and the United States.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are not only working to restore corals, but to create a fully functioning reef ecosystem that has the ability to mitigate climate change, sea level rise, storm surge and keep sand on the beaches,\u2019 said Dr Brosnan.<\/p>\n

\u2018OceanShot can now be deployed globally, to help governments prioritise ocean resilience and blue economy industries like fishing and tourism, as well as restore biodiversity.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The ocean belongs to all of us, and together we\u2019ve got to do right by it,\u2019 said Mr DeJoria. \u2018We have the opportunity now to show the world that real solutions exist \u2013 and we\u2019re thrilled to be entering the next phase of OceanShot to continue restoring healthy coral reefs.\u2019<\/p>\n

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