OUR STORY
Coral Conservation Society is a small Canadian non-profit foundation which contributes to coral spawn collection, fertilization and transplantation of endangered coral on the Mesoamerican Reef. Our goals are to:
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Support coral conservation and restoration.
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Contribute to and further coral conservation and restoration research.
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Further the training and education of those working to conserve and restore coral.
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Teach children and adults about coral reefs: why they are important and the threats they face.
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Raise awareness of the immediate need to conserve and restore coral.
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Encourage public support for coral conservation, restoration, research and education.
Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor yet provide habitat for 25% of all marine species making them the most biodiverse marine ecosystem on earth. People rely on coral reefs for food, jobs, flood protection and development of new medicines. 500 million people in at least 90 countries benefit from coral reefs.
Since the 1980’s global coral reef cover has declined between 30-50%. In the Caribbean since the 1970’s, 80% of the main reef building coral has died. On Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, 50% of the coral has died since 2016. Acropora coral in the Caribbean is now on the IUCN red list, one step away from “Extinct in the Wild.”
The major cause of coral decline is climate change as corals are not adapting to warming seas. The world has warmed to 1⁰ and is currently on track to for 3.2⁰C. In an IPCC report released in October 2018, scientists estimate that at 1.5°C of warming we’ll lose about 80% of coral reefs. At 2°C, more than 99% of all coral reefs will be gone. To keep warming at 1.5⁰C we will need to be carbon neutral by 2050. Overfishing, pollution and local stressors are other main causes.
STATUS OF CORAL
WHAT WE ARE DOING
The Coral Conservation Society works to raise awareness of the need to restore and conserve coral. We participate in coral larval propagation research and reef restoration of endangered Acropora coral on the Mesoamerican Reef off the Caribbean coast of Mexico. We provide marine life guides to local tour operators, reef enthusiasts and citizen scientists for locations in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. We prepare coral educational material and provide coral conservation project management support. We are a small organization consisting entirely of volunteers.
Our Work
Our Science Advisor
Congratulations to Jenny Mallon, our science advisor on completing her PhD! Jenny is working on some exciting research on ocean deoxygenation and quantifying coral growth using sea water chemistry to aid coral restoration efforts worldwide. In this video Jenny describes her research and why her work is important for both reefs and the people who depend on them.