Researchers in Bermuda and Indonesia have found that degraded reefs can be restored given enough time and investment.

Samia Sarkis, the director of research and development at Bermuda’s Living Reefs Foundation, said that planting coral could enhance recovery time.

“But please note, this is not a simple operation and there are several factors that need to be considered to achieve a successful restoration programme,” she noted.

The marine biologist said one of the major challenges of rebuilding reefs in Bermuda centred on the main type of reef-building species found in the island waters, which she described as “non-branching or boulder-type corals”.

“They grow more slowly,” she cautioned.

For this reason, Dr Sarkis said research by the Living Reefs Foundation on accelerating performance assessment and juvenile growth “is critical to the sustainable restoration and preservation of Bermuda's coral reefs”.

Recently, researchers in Indonesia have discovered that damaged reefs can be restored and grow healthy.

Dr Sarkis noted that the type of corals found in Indonesia allowed the reefs to be restored in a short time.

She explained that the species of corals in Bermuda “have a much slower growth rate”.

The study in Indonesia was carried out by the University of Exeter in collaboration with the Research Centre for Oceanography, National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia, Mars Sustainable Solutions and Lancaster University.

Researchers focused on restoring an underwater ecosystem that was destroyed from blast fishing about 30 to 40 years ago.

The Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme involved the transplanting of coral fragments to a network of interconnected, sand-coated steel frames called “reef stars”.

“The speed of recovery we saw is incredible,” said Ines Lange of Exeter.

“It shows that active management actions can help to boost the resilience of specific reefs and bring back important functions that are critical for marine life and local communities,” Dr Lange said.