PROTOCOL FOR CORAL FARMING

HARD CORAL (Scleractinia)

FRAGMENTATION: CORAL SEEDLING/START PRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

Throughout the Indo-Pacific region, commercial coral farming have two (2) important
components:

- (1) The coral fragment or cutting mounting substrate; plug, base

- (2) The coral growing platform; table

The live coral fragment, or cutting, attached to the base or mounting will be called in this
protocol a “Coral Seedling” or CS.

The underwater growing platform will be called in this protocol a “Coral Culture Table” or
CCT.

Coral Seedling / CS Coral Culture Table / CCT

The CCT design and concept has proven to be very successful in culturing both hard
and soft corals throughout the various existing coral farming ventures in the Indo-Pacific
region.

CCT use allows & facilitates

- Optimum single species growth in high densities and numbers

- Elimination of other coral species space competition, whereas, on the reef
bottom itself, different coral species (and sometimes same species but
independent colonies) compete for space and growth
 - Reduction of coral predator affection as the CCT is off the reef bottom and can
be fully caged to stop fish and invertebrate predators from attacking the CS
- Ease for inventory management for stock appraisals and buyer queries
- Ease for harvesting and replanting
- Ease for the culture of donor/mother colonies to focus on more rapid growing
colonies and quality enhancements (color, branching configurations)
- Facilitates CS growth / production nearby the wild donor colonies to better
ensure optimum survival by being adjacent to the ‘mothers.’

Coral Seedlings do not require feeding if maintained in a natural coral reef setting. Coral
Culture Tables are deployed in optimum reef areas that deter having to clean off silt and
other debris. The CCT unit itself can culture hundreds of coral seedlings on a single
platform depending on the design and allowed space for CS planting. This feature
greatly aids in determining the number of CCT needed to maintain minimum production
numbers.

The CCT concept is also important with the CITES definition associated with “CAPTIVE
BREEDING and ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION.”

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 gives definitions with regard to specimens
that were born and bred in captivity and/or artificially propagated.

¾ First generation offspring (F1) means specimens produced in a controlled

environment from parents of which at least one was conceived in or taken from
the wild, most often called born in captivity.

¾ Second generation offspring (F2) and subsequent generation offspring (F3, F4,
etc.) means specimens produced in a controlled environment from parents that
were also produced in a controlled environment, most often called born and
bred in captivity.

¾ A controlled environment means an environment that is manipulated for the

purpose of producing animals of a particular species, that has boundaries
designed to prevent animals, eggs or gametes of the species from entering or
leaving the controlled environment, and the general characteristics of which may
include, but are not limited to, artificial housing, waste removal, health care,
protection from predators and the artificial supply of food.

F2 and subsequent offspring can be exempt from CITES Permit Appendix II

Regulations, whereas, with the culture of a coral farm’s mother/donor colonies from the
F1 stocks constitute F2 criterion. Exemption is usually accepted by both the country of
origin and country of entry if certified by more than one NGO/NPO that is recognized
internationally. At this date of this protocol, no such NGO/NPO exists and so CITES
export/import permit processing is required for each and every shipment. Export
protocol will be covered in a separate protocol.

Don E. Baker Jr. 2

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
2.0 General Tools, Equipment, & Explanation

Scuba (for extended underwater stay) with a team of workers; one on scuba, one
retrieving, one handling boat operations (exclusively); boat operator will not handle/work
with corals for reasons of hand and clothing petro/grease/oil contamination vector

Snorkeling: mask/snorkel/fins for shallow water works and seedling inspections

Personal Clothing: long sleeve shirt & long pants if no wetsuit available; sun burn and
reef/coral abrasion protection

Plastic Buckets (20L): Marked/designated for live coral use only; marked for other uses
(tools)

Vegetable Oil: Use for lubricating all metal tools. No WD40, motor oil, grease, or other
oils to be used on any tools used for coral works

Plastic Tubs/Containers: Marked/designated for live coral use only

Large Plastic Tubs: Marked/designated for live coral use only – to store all smaller
tubs and containers as well as tools in their own small bucket

Gardening Shears: For use with fragmenting/cutting hard coral branches to obtain
fragment tip / starts; lubricated with vegetable oil only (cleaned with seawater to remove
excess oil before use)

Needle Nose Pliers: For use with fragmenting/cutting closely grown hard coral
branches to obtain fragment tip / starts without damaging branches not to be used;
lubricated with vegetable oil only (cleaned with seawater to remove excess oil before
use)

Plastic Spray Bottles: Marked/designated for live coral use only; for use with seedling
preparation to maintain seawater moisture during the mounting fixative setup/drying
period

Knives/Blades: Marked/designated for live coral use only; to use for a variety of needs;
knife used for cutting solid fixative should be designated only for this

Plastic Cutting Board: Marked/designated for live coral use only; for use with solid
fixative preparations

Knife Sharpening Stone: Marked/designated for live coral use only; for sharpening the
gardening shears and knives; to be used for flattening coral seedling/start bases prior to
mounting

Seedling/Start Mount: Concrete mixture base for mounting live coral seedling/starts

Don E. Baker Jr. 3

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
Plastic Divers Note Board: For use in field data recording; can be Plexiglas section –
one side painted white enamel – writing side roughen with fine sand paper.

Field Work Boat: This boat should have adequate space for placing several 20L
buckets, tools and other equipment; should have a canvas sun cover to block out
sunlight 100% to the deck area to be used for coral works

Plastic Floating Thermometer: Designated for coral farm use only; to ensure bucket
seawater temperature does not rise above natural water temperatures in the field work
areas

Notes of Special Concern:

- Boat operator to ensure all

petrol/oil/grease items and storage
containers are kept near the motor and
never to be in the same work area with
live corals
- Boat operator & CF Technicians must
not engage in cigarette smoking during
work with live corals. If smoking is
permitted, hands/fingers must be
thoroughly cleaned with mild soap,
rinsed with seawater, and smell-tested
for any residual odor of soap or nicotine.
Nicotine will quickly kill corals, whereas,
noted after 24 hours of seedling planting
- All buckets to be used for live corals are
to be thoroughly cleaned/rinsed/smell-
tested before use. (Unknown vectors of
seedling death are often a result of
contaminated buckets)

3.0 Preparation for Seedling Harvest

3.1 The Coral Farm Manager (CFM) will determine seedling management and
inventory on a bi-weekly basis (separate Protocol) and will instruct Coral Farm
Technicians (CFT) when there is a need for seedling replanting according to
what types and numbers are needed.

3.2 Designated coral farm tools and equipment are chosen / inspected for field use.

3.3 The CFM will assign CFT according to:

- Boat Handler/Driver
- Reef Coral Seedling Harvester (Scuba or Snorkel)
- Seedling Receiver/Handler

Don E. Baker Jr. 4

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
3.4. Each designation/assigned position must be adhered too exclusively, whereas, if
the – say – the boat handler takes live corals into his hands that are
contaminated with petrol/oil/grease, the corals may not survive afterward. This
action will waste field work time and compromise the overall net cost of planting
the seedling that dies.

3.5 CFM will determine which reef field sites to obtain live coral seedlings/starts
(CS). Charts and maps should be used for making rough sketches for the field
team to ensure time is not wasted in any searching / exploring.

3.6 If the Coral Farm has cultured its own donor / mother corals, then the CFM will
determine which coral culture tables (CCT) are available for seedling / start
harvesting according to farm management inventory records.

3.7 CFM will determine and confirm that all field work tools & equipment are on
board the transport boat before departure. This further ensures that time in the
field is efficient and optimized without having the team returning to obtain
forgotten tools & equipment. This will include enough 20L buckets to transport or
maintain coral types to be worked with (i.e. if five different types of corals are to
be worked with => no less than 5 buckets must be made available for use).

3.8 CFM may be required to brief the CF Technicians on correctly choosing coral
donor / mother colonies (either wild or cultured farm donors) through the use of
photographs, books, or even sketches. Water proof identification panels may be
obtained from a tourist dive shop / outlet.

3.9 Based on the coral farm operation itself and the distance of the coral culture
tables (CCT) from the same, a boat may or may not be required on some
seedling works. If the CCTs to be planted are far from the main farm platform or
infrastructure, all works will be required to be done on the work boat itself. This
will also require no less than two (2) CFT receiving to be stationed in the boat.

Don E. Baker Jr. 5

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
4.0 Fragment Harvest

4.1 The designated CF Technician/s for obtaining live coral fragments will ensure
cutting/snapping tools are thoroughly operable and cleaned as best as possible
of vegetable oil prior to water entry.

4.2 Receiving CF Technician/s will ensure that all buckets are thoroughly cleaned,
rinsed in seawater, and ready for use. Buckets should not be filled with seawater
until after coral fragments have been received.

4.3 CFT will collect only one (1) coral type at any one time and so deliver to CFTs
receiving the corals. At no time should different coral types be placed together in
the same bucket.

4.4 Though more than one 20L buckets should be made available, it is
recommended that new CF Technicians only work / plant one type seedling at
any one time. This deters / eliminates different coral types from damaging each
other. As CF technicians become more experienced / skilled, more than one
bucket containing different coral types can be maintained.

4.5 Live coral of different types will readily and actively try to sting / kill each other as
a space / territorial behavior even within the same bucket for only a few minutes
together. The first ‘attack’ is extruding a noticeable or barely noticeable
chemically filled slime to weaken other coral types first. If the coral fragments are
close by or touching one another, the attack more deadly with tentacles stinging.

4.6 The collection basket used for the live coral fragments should be a net like make
so that water can easily pass through but with openings small enough to retain
the same fragments in the basket during works underwater and transport to the
boat receiving CF technicians.

4.7 ONLY fifteen (15) % of a single coral donor / mother should ever be used for
fragments, whereas, this allows for the same donor / mother to be able to recover
/ grow out its sections once again.

4.8 Fragment sizes should be approximately no less than 3 cm / no more than 5cm
for any type of coral; be it length or average mass.

4.9 Choice of coral fragments should be made with an ‘artistic’ flavor so as to ensure
the final seedling product after several months of growth is acceptable to market
quality demand. The CFM should always be on top of this feature and so instruct
CFT.

4.10 CF receiving technicians should be ready to receive harvested fragments from

the diver/s by quickly filling the 20L buckets with new seawater. Buckets must be
fully submerged by about a foot (1/3 M) and lifted straight up out of the water
quickly. This helps to ensure that the same bucket will have as little as possible
any surface / floating contaminants in the same water (i.e. petrol, diesel, oil, etc).
Don E. Baker Jr. 6
Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
4.11 Coral fragments are inspected by receiving CF technicians so as to ensure they
are all the same type. Regardless of this, the fragments should be separated in
the bucket in case it is difficult to 100% ensure this.

Notes of Special Concern:

- All CF Technicians should ‘smell-test’ hands and fingers frequently throughout their
works (i.e. cigarette nicotine; soap, petrol, oil, grease, etc.).
- 20L buckets of newly collected seawater should also be smell-tested before placing live
coral fragments in them.
- LIVE Coral only inhabits the hard skeleton on the very outer surface so CF Technicians
must never handle coral fragments firmly or apply too much finger holding pressure.
- Handle live corals gently at all times.

5.0 Seedling Fixing & Planting

5.1 Coral fragments are inspected by receiving CF technicians and enough coral
bases / plugs are prepared on screen netting.

5.2 One CF technician is to be exclusively for plug / base preparation and fixative
making. One CF technician will exclusively be planting the live coral seedlings

5.3 As this is the most critical time in the entire process, smell-testing of the planting
CF technician’s hands and fingers is important. No nicotine, soap, oil, petrol,
grease, etc. should be present on fingers and hands.

5.4 If time is not critical, the CF technician diver can return to the boat and assist
further in live coral handling. Once a sufficient number of seedlings are ready for
planting underwater, the same diver can return to the water and carefully plant
the new seedlings onto the coral culture tables (CCT).

5.5 If a epoxy / glue fixative is to be used, the designated CF technician for doing this
work will ensure that an adequate number of plug / bases with fixative are made
up in a timely manner so that partial fixative curing may occur prior to planting the
seedlings underwater.

5.6 During the time that the live coral seedlings are out of the seawater, the bucket
water that had or is maintaining the same coral type un-mounted fragments is
only to be used for filling a plastic water spray bottle. The corals are to sprayed
with this water several times before being transferred to the underwater CCT.

5.7 Fixative partial drying time should be approximately 15 minutes, whereas, the
coral seedlings are relatively solidly mounted onto the plug / base and can be
safely transferred to the CCT without falling off / out of the fixative.

Don E. Baker Jr. 7

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
5.8 Once the fixative has set for about 15 minutes, the newly mounted seedlings
must be planted underwater on the CCT.

5.9 It is recommended that a single CCT be Only designated for a single coral type
and not mix different types together. Again, this is noted above with regards to
coral able to detect other types / species present nearby and so attempt to kill
one another. This same condition also deters coral growth as most of the
energy is used for this kill / defense behavior.

Notes of Special Concern:

- Corals note only extrude the chemically laced slime to combat other coral types but the
same slime is highly laced with colony origin specific antibiotics to deter bacterial
infections caused by chemical or physical damage to the colony itself.
- Setting up an efficient ‘assembly line’ concept is important for maintaining designated
jobs/duties for the CF technicians; for plug prep – fragment prep – fragment attachment –
seedling & fixative drying
- No matter how experienced / skilled the CF technicians are, it is still recommended that
only one (1) coral type be worked with at any one time.
- Smell Test and allowing for Minimum Stress for the live coral fragments and then
mounted seedlings is IMPORTANT at all times in the process noted in this Protocol.

Don E. Baker Jr. 8

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
6.0 Suggested Coral Types for Seedling / Fragment Farming Use

Don E. Baker Jr. 9

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
Coral Mariculture
High Value Marine Aquarium Trade Hard Corals (Scleractinia, Milleporina, Helioporacea)
& Limited Soft Corals (Alcyonacea)

Primary potential

Aquarium and curio coral trades, coral reef restoration, and enhancement of
snorkeling trails for ecotourism.

Attributes for aquaculture/stock enhancement

¾ Aquacultured corals qualify as ‘captive bred’ and are exempted from CITES regulations,
but only if they are certified as grown from second generation cultured stock.

¾ Coral seed is readily available in the wild. However, wild stock should only be relied on in
the selection of fragments for culture into mother colonies.

¾ Selection for colour, growth form, disease resistance, attachment, and growth rate should
be done in initial trials before culture into mother colonies.

¾ Coral culture is a central component of the ‘green certification’ process for the aquarium
and curio trades, a plan for phasing out the wild coral harvest over time.

¾ High rates of survival (close to 100%) when coral seed are handled properly.

¾ Fast production (3–12 months for aquarium corals, 1–3 years for curio corals).

¾ Retail prices for cultured corals are higher than for wild collected corals.

Don E. Baker Jr. 10

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
Culture methods

¾ Corals can be grown in shallow water in the field with relative ease without the use of
scuba, as long as the culture site has (1) good water flow but is sheltered from waves; (2)
consistently high quality seawater; and (3) abundant shelter for herbivorous fish, which
are important for cleaning the frames.

¾ Underwater culture tables for holding the culture frames of coral fragments are
constructed of 12 mm (1/2 inch) metal bars wired together with baling wire (similar to
WorldFish Center clam culture tables). Extra bars can be attached to form 2 or 3 layers.

¾ Culture frames are made of 1 X 1 cm galvanised wire mesh, painted to prevent rusting.

¾ Dimensions may vary but must be sufficient to allow for overlap and stability on the
culture table.

¾ Bases for culture can be made of concrete disks, rock or shell.

¾ 3–5 cm coral fragments serve as seed. A 14 kg (30 lb) breaking strain monofilament line
holds the seed fragment tightly to the base and the base to the frame. A single frame can
hold about
¾ 50 fragments for culture; and 10–12 frames per culture table.

¾ Corals can be grown at high densities, lessening negative impacts on reef environments.

¾ Coral fragments can also be cultured directly on clean rubble beds, with each fragment
tagged to establish its cultured nature.

¾ Mother colonies can be cultured on lines stretched between the culture tables, attached
to concrete blocks, or directly on clean rubble.

¾ Each coral farm should have an associated restoration or reef enhancement site, for
receiving unmarketable corals (misshapen, partly dead or broken).

Current production status

¾ Much research remains to be done to improve methods.

¾ Pilot-scale production is occurring in several places in Fiji (Walt Smith and Foundation for
the South Pacific) and in the Philippines (Dr. Thomas Heeger, U San Carlos, Cebu / now
defunct) and Palau using different methods and requiring scuba.

¾ Commercial production took place in Marau Sound, Solomon Islands, in 1998–1999, but
most of this activity was curtailed by ethnic unrest in 1999–2000. (Farm re-established
2005)

Marketing

¾ Well established, long-standing international demand.

¾ Domestic demand by the tourism industry for small bleached or coloured corals,
estimated at up to 50,000 aquacultured colonies per year in Fiji Islands alone.
Don E. Baker Jr. 11
Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01
 ¾ Opportunity to develop a local product of high value and for use with communities for
conservation, to build conservation awareness, and as a restoration incentive.

¾ Potential for culture and marketing of medical-grade corals for bone grafts.

¾ Cultured corals have multiple markets, so farmed corals are less vulnerable to
fluctuations in market demand. Can be used in reef restoration.

¾ No competition with other aquaculture or fisheries products.

¾ For eco-labelling purposes, corals are identified as of aquacultured origin by

incorporation of monofilament line deep within colonies and by skeletal overgrowth onto
bases. Establishing that corals are grown from cultured mother colonies, without negative
impacts and linked to conservation, will require third-party certification.

¾ Aquarium corals (live) must be kept in well oxygenated seawater for air shipment, while
curio corals (dead) have an indefinite storage life and can be shipped by sea.

¾ For purposes of restoration or snorkeling trail enhancement, transport of corals is

possible for several hours out of water if regularly sprayed with water and shaded.

Comparative advantages/disadvantages (risks) of producing the species in

the Pacific:

¾ Simple, low cost technology and easy management. Suitable for small-scale operations
and for self-employment of rural women and youth.

¾ Coral farming should best be introduced as part of a wider reef awareness and
management context, and as an economic incentive for conservation.

¾ Coral culture should be done in the field. The culture of corals in greenhouses in
developed countries not only produces tonnes of greenhouse gases but is a violation of
indigenous property rights, as outlined in the UN Convention on Biodiversity.

Risks to field culture

¾ Stegastes ‘farmer fish’ can move onto culture tables and establish algal farms, killing the
corals.

¾ If herbivorous fish are absent, algae can overgrow the cultured corals.

¾ Bleaching during warm water events can kill the corals, but can be prevented by covering
the coral farm with shade cloth.

(From: Profiles of high interest aquaculture commodities for Pacific Islands countries, 2003. SPC
Aquaculture Technical Papers, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, New Caledonia. Pages 15-17.)

Don E. Baker Jr. 12

Marine Resources & Aquaculture Consultant
Email: donbjr95@hotmail.com / reefpeace@yahoo.com
PROTOCOL – CF - 01