Sharjah’s Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) has announced a joint collaboration with Emirates Marine Environment Group (EMEG) to establish a large-scale coral nursery off the coast of the island of Sir Bu Nair.

In a statement, the EPAA said that the project is part of its annual programme of conservation initiatives for the island, and that the coral nursery is designed to mitigate the impact of coral bleaching events that effect Sir Bu Nair in 2016 and 2017.

The EPAA explained that coral bleaching typically occurs as a result of changes in environmental conditions, with increases in sea temperatures being the primary cause. This contributes to the death of living organisms and is particularly hazardous to coloured algae, resulting in the coral turning white.

Scientists consider climate change to be the single biggest current and future threat to the survival of coral reefs around the world.

Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, EPAA chairperson, said that the authority has devoted considerable attention to the preservation of coral reefs.

During the creation of the nursery, uncommon, rare or endangered coral species will be given priority, in order to help with their conservation and to enhance results.

“Establishment of the nursery will involve the installation of multiple semi-fixed cages, attached with ropes. The individual corals will be inserted at intervals of between five and ten centimetres along the rope, by temporarily twisting, moving fragments into rope openings and making the rope taut,” he noted.

“Ongoing monitoring of coral survival and growth rates is expected to ensure a survival rate of approximately 94% of the corals, which will then be transferred to locations where an increase in coral cover and an enhancement of species diversity is required,” he added.