Times of the Islands Spring 2022

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources
TCRF
The John Ellerman Foundation grant will allow TCRF to preserve genetic samples of coral on coral tables (or raceways) as shown here.
This $173,000 grant, which provides funding for the
two-year pilot project, will allow TCRF to gather live samples
of some of the 30+ reef building corals that have
been devastated by SCTLD since the initial outbreak in
early 2019. By taking genetic samples of the corals out of
the water we can preserve them (essentially infinitely) in
what’s called “coral tables” or “raceways” and use them to
actively restore live tissue to the reef. Through a process
of micro-fragmentation, which involves cutting pieces of
coral into as small as 1x1cm 2 , we can prompt live tissue
to grow up to 40 times faster than it might in the wild.
That’s pretty wild!
The pilot tank will be set up in the TCRF office located
at South Bank Marina and the facility will be open to visitors.
We’re excited about the opportunities this will
provide for educational tours and for the training of local
volunteers in the basics of coral husbandry so that when
we are able to grow and increase our efforts, we’ll have
the local knowledge and capacity to do so.
But first, Step 1: Learn about the ins and outs of
coral husbandry as well as all the technical/engineering
aspects involved with aquaculture and closed-system
tanks. For this we have partnered with The Reef Institute
(www.reefinstitute.org) based in West Palm Beach,
Florida. They are a non-profit research and education-based
facility and have played a significant role in
the rescue efforts for Florida’s coral reefs. They house
the third largest collection of corals rescued from the
path of SCTLD along the Florida Reef Tract and they align
closely with our educational goals focusing on three main
areas: environmental sensitivity + scientific skills = oceanic
stewards.
With this grant award, we will be able to begin to
preserve samples of many iconic coral species that have
been the foundation of our reefs. The ultimate goal is
to greatly expand our land-based coral nursery program
allowing us to propagate these important reef building
corals and ultimately restore them to the reefs around the
Turks & Caicos Islands.
SCTLD has exacted a terrible toll on the reefs of the
TCI—it is a coral disease unlike any other, having now
affected reefs in 20+ tropical Atlantic and Caribbean
Island nations. It is a fast-moving, highly lethal disease
with a yet unknown cause affecting nearly all the major
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