Mauritius to boost coral farming

Afriquenligne 7 Jun 08;

Port-Louis, Mauritius - Coral farming can be a lucrative business for lar ge as well as small and medium enterprises (SME) in Mauritius since it tallies with the government¹s empowerment programme which encourages people, especially the unemployed and women entrepreneurs to launch themselves into SMEs, according to Ruby Moothien Pillay, the Project Officer at the Mauritius Oceanographic Institute (MOI).

MOI has launched a two-year pilot project on coral farming aimed at investigating optimal nursery conditions for growth and propagation of corals in land-based nurseries, with the ultimate goal of restoring and rehabilitating degraded reefs.

Also for the propagation of the rare, threatened and endangered species, marine aquarium trade, establishment of a coral aquarium, and for making handicrafts and jewellery for the tourism industry.

Presenting the preliminary results of the project at the University of Mauritius Friday, Mrs Pillay said to ensure the sustainability of the project, economic and social development and environmental conservation had to be interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

"This project has been developed with these three main components in mind, besides bringing in foreign currency, it will also meet social needs by creating jobs and catering for the conservation of the environment," she added.

Mrs. Pillay emphasised that coral business had its place in Mauritius as every foreign visitor would want take back the souvenir back home and the souvenir normally reflects something pertaining to the place visited.

Explaining the reasons for farming corals on land, she said coral propagules were less influenced by coral bleaching, diseases, cyclones, pollution, physical damages and oil spill.

On the present status of the project, she said four coral species -- Acropora au stera, A. formosa, A. selago and Pocillopora damicornis -- were under culture at the nurseries in Albion, on the western coast of the Island.

"No mortality was registered among the coral transplants of both the ocean and land-based nurseries and both are growing at the same rate," she explained.

PANA reports that the world's coral market involves some 70 countries that import coral and about 120 are involved in export.

The main traders are the US, Japan and the European Union to which Mauritius sells about 1,000 tonnes of the product annually.