Coral Gardening
Holiday with a Purpose!
The Somosomo Strait between Taveuni and Vanua Levu is home to some of the most spectacular corals and marine life in the world and offers a fantastic location for Coral Gardening.
To protect coral reefs, two resorts on either side of the Somosomo Strait have started coral gardening and reef conservation programs. Guests can learn about reef life and help grow corals when the corals are at their most vulnerable stage.
A coral is an animal in the same family as jellyfish and sea anemones. Coral polyps bind together in a colony, that creates a large structure that forms the beautiful reef you often imagine when you picture snorkelling. Coral reefs are home to thousands of species of fish and other creatures – who use the reef for shelter, food, and protection. When a coral reef thrives, animals like manta rays, reef sharks, and sea turtles visit more regularly.
Saving the Coral Reef
At Makaira Resort, guests can learn all about the many types of coral gardening from Roberta Davis, the owner of Makaira Resort and a passionate environmentalist. Roberta is one of the most experienced coral gardeners in Fiji. Guests can receive a free coral gardening lesson at the resort and are able to plant a section of their own. Travellers often return to Makaira Resort to witness how much the coral reefs have progressed since their last visit. To show just how much of an impact this program has made, the resort has left some of the reef untouched for visitors to see the contrast.
Currently, coral reefs are under threat because of cyclones, climate change, invasive species, pollution, over fishing, and many other factors.
The basics of coral gardening are simple it is great fun and can become a healthy addiction. Join us in reef-scaping and leave an imprint of yourself on our reefs. Many of our returnee guests come back to see how far the reef has progressed, and every coral you plant becomes a home.
Viani Bay Coral Farm
Dive Academy in Viani Bay is a sheltered area a few boat minutes from the world-famous Rainbow Reef. It is also a nursery for marine life. As the bay does not have street access and not every family in the bay owns a boat, the fish in the bay is a vital part of the food. Periods of coral bleaching and over-fishing due to lack of knowledge about sustainable practices led to a damage of the reefs and consequently the amount of fish in the bay.
Dive Academy Fiji initiated a coral restoration project with the full support of the local community who made Tivi Island in Viani Bay a tabu area (local MPA) in August 2019. Together with local volunteers we have started to plant corals and will transplant them around the bay.
