The Guangdong-Guizhou Qiongmin Coral Census was carried out to protect corals in action to adopt "coral babies" to reproduce the colorful seabed

Volunteers from the second event planted corals on The Island of Boundary Island in Hainan. Photo by Wang Siyu

　　Reporter Zhu Guifeng

　　Recently, the second National Coral Day was held in Wanning City, Hainan Province. The event was hosted by the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Branch of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, and jointly hosted by the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University and other units.

　　Liao Baolin, senior engineer of the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University and deputy secretary-general of the China Coral Conservation Alliance, told this reporter that protecting corals and caring for the ocean has become the need of the times, and in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Fujian provinces and regions, the coral census work is in full swing.

<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > protecting corals in action</h1>

　　Liao Baolin introduced that coral, as a living organism, is the architect of the ocean, provides shelter for other organisms, and is an important spawning, breeding and bait feeding place for many organisms. Coral reefs are also a weather vane for the advantages and disadvantages of the marine ecological environment, which has an irreplaceable role in optimizing the marine ecology, and is known as the "tropical rainforest in the ocean" because of its high biodiversity and resource productivity.

　　However, due to the impact of global warming, ocean acidification, human destruction, etc., coral resources and coral reef ecosystems have been seriously damaged.

　　In 2016, the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University settled in Dapeng New District, Shenzhen, and in the same year, the first coral conservation center in China was built, and the brand of Guangdong Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Base and National Aquatic Wildlife Domestication and Breeding Base was added, and it was successfully approved as a national rare and endangered aquatic animal (stone coral) breeding and stocking seedling supply unit, which is an institution integrating coral collection, domestication, breeding, rescue and seedling supply. Up to now, more than 50,000 corals have been planted in Shenzhen and other places, more than 40,000 coral seedlings have been cultivated, and more than 20 green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles have been rescued.

　　In December 2019, under the guidance of the Fisheries and Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Branch, the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences and the Hainan Academy of Oceanography and Fisheries Sciences jointly initiated the establishment of the China Coral Conservation Alliance, and designated September 20 as National Coral Day every year. This is the sixth Rare and Endangered Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Alliance after the Yangtze River Finless Porpoise, Chinese Sturgeon, Chinese White Dolphin, Spotted Seal and Sea Turtle Conservation Alliance. On September 20, 2020, the first National Coral Day was held in Dapeng New District, Shenzhen.

<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="24" > adopt "baby coral"</h1>

　　The salt pans and Dapeng sea areas in the east of Shenzhen have an area of more than 3,000 mu of stone coral communities of national second-level protected animals. In May 2020, the waters of Dapeng Bay in Shenzhen were photographed for the first time with images of precious corals laying eggs in the wild.

　　In September this year, the Dapeng Management Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources recruited 500 members of the public to become coral guardians and adopt coral seedlings. It is reported that after professional domestication and scientific cultivation of the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, the overall survival rate of coral seedlings can reach more than 85%, so that the nearshore coral ecology can be restored to the greatest extent.

　　Guangdong Province is the first province in Mainland China to carry out coral censuses, and has been in existence for 15 years since its launch in 2007, with more than 3,000 volunteers participating in conservation work. In 2020, the Guangdong Coral Census and Beautiful Dapeng Coral Planting Activity was sponsored by the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University and the Dapeng New Area Diving Association, and the new coral larval supplement survey was added to count the number of "coral babies" less than 5 cm to reflect the health status and recovery ability of coral communities.

　　Liao Baolin said that since the launch of the Guangdong Coral Census, the content has been continuously enriched, and in recent years, the survey contents of seahorse conservation, marine microbial resources, and microplastics in coastal waters have been added, providing a scientific basis for Guangdong to find out the marine home and government departments to carry out more targeted marine ecological environment conservation and planning.

　　Under the guidance of China Coral Census diving volunteers, the coral census led by private environmental protection forces has been fully launched. Ma Haipeng, president of Shenzhen Blue Marine Environmental Protection Association, introduced that coral census is the basis for the rapid development of coral science and industry, and in the years of development, China's marine conservation experts and scholars, related enterprises and public welfare volunteers have also accumulated rich achievements and experience.

　　Coral surveys are mainly conducted in the form of diving expeditions, using field survey records and image records to collect data. Census data show that the growth status of corals and various indicators in the eastern waters of Shenzhen are basically stable, and the average coral coverage rate is about 35%.

<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > recreate the seabed</h1>

　　Coral resource conservation requires the participation of all sectors of society. The relevant person in charge of the Dapeng Management Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources said that the protection of coral resources plays an important role in improving the marine ecological environment, maintaining biodiversity, promoting the sustainable use of marine resources, and achieving harmonious development between man and nature. It is necessary to integrate social resources, innovate cooperation mechanisms, build a communication and cooperation platform for competent departments, scientific research units, management agencies of protected areas, enthusiastic people and social groups, gather more forces to participate in the protection of coral resources, and reproduce the colorful seabed.

　　Liao Baolin believes that it is necessary to systematically carry out coral ecological protection and science popularization and education activities to further expand the social impact of coral protection.

　　Ma Haipeng called for the broad participation of all sectors of society to protect corals, protect aquatic wildlife and protect the marine ecological environment, "Let us take action, from now on, and make new contributions to the construction of ecological civilization." ”

　　Shenzhen coral guardian volunteer Ren Fangyuan suggested that through specific activities such as coral protection science popularization into campuses, communities, enterprises, fishing villages, and fishing boats, efforts should be made to expand the areas and groups affected by coral protection science popularization.

　　It is reported that Guangdong Province will set up 34 stations along the coast to protect corals and organize 34 census teams to participate. Among them, there are 12 sites in Shenzhen, which is the most tied with Huizhou. At present, artificially planted corals in Shenzhen sea areas have bred the third generation.