Staghorn Coral Tree Nursery at the James Bond Wrecks

Due to my connections with The Nature Conservancy I have been lucky enough to start my training to become a Scientific Diver. Currently I hold the rank of Scientific Diver in Training, and the only way to become a full Scientific Diver is if I work for a university or for an organisation like The Nature Conservancy.

However, that aside I got to take part in some fantastic training by Lisa Kirkley. She wrote (she may have co-authored it with K. Lewis, I’m not sure) the PADI Coral Nursery and Restoration Speciality Course. The training deals with the set up and management of coral nurseries so that the corals can be outplanted to help regenerate damaged or declining reefs. A big part of the nursery is keeping it clean of algae. That’s what I did this weekend. We did two dives at the James Bond Wrecks, where the nursery is located, and we managed to get lots of cleaning done. I am looking forward to being part of the team that outplants the corals.

Stuart Cove‘s, here in the Bahamas, offers the course under the tutelage of Hayley. She is a fantastic instructor and was trained by Lisa Kirkley as well. If you are here and are interested in doing the course contact them and get yourself signed up, it is truly rewarding.

Closeup shot of some staghorn on the coral tree nursery