PADI AWARE Foundation

This grantee is committed to replanting native coral species through citizen science in Chalok Bay, Koh Tao, Thailand. Big Bubble Dive Resort on Koh Tao Island in Thailand is dedicated to the future of coral reefs. With their PADI AWARE Foundation Community Grant, they’re restoring corals and educating the community. Big Bubble Dive Resort will offer coral planting activities to communities and tourists, bringing together many hands to protect and care for the coral reefs of Koh Tao. Since 2017 in partnership with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Thailand, scuba divers have planted over 100,000 coral fragments around the island. In 2022, they used PADI AWARE funding to plant an additional 2,500 coral fragments. Data collection following the planting showed approximately an 80% survival rate after three months. Following the initial coral plantings, the artificial reefs planted can serve as a resource for interested divers to learn more about coral reef conservation. The reason behind their project is clear. When Big Bubble’s team thinks of the ocean, they immediately remember coral reefs, the marine life that lives there, and their own lives, said Pongphat Turasakul. Human life is fundamentally reliant upon a healthy reef and ocean. Therefore, in restoring the reef, the shop knows that they are also helping the local community and visitors to the island. Success for the project will be measured by the survival of restored coral and the number of citizen science divers who participate. These efforts are also “a case study for the future restoration of the reef,” Pongphat Turasakul added. With success, future restoration projects could become more realistic. Education is also a big component of the project because it allows the work to continue long after the dives have ended. Visitors who connect with the mission behind the coral restoration project will bring that back home with them and share it within their communities. In this way, support for coral reefs and more sustainable ways of living grows. This effect can ripple out far beyond the island. “The oceans are too big for one single hand to protect and care for. However, if many small hands work together, our oceans will definitely get better,” says Mr. Chatsakul Kaewpanao, Big Bubble Resort’s General Manager.

Monitor and restore seagrass and install permanent eco-moorings in high-density areas across Kefalonia, Greece. There are three phases to the project, which will take place over the next three years in four different bays off Kefalonia. First, Kosamare will scientifically monitor seagrass meadows in the north of Kefalonia through aerial photography and underwater surveys in order to select priority areas for permanent eco-moorings and restoration work. Divers will measure fish biodiversity and the overall health of Posidonia meadows. Eventually, permanent, eco-friendly moorings will help prevent future damage from boating, and Posidonia restoration will revive some of these critical habitats and blue carbon sinks. The Posidonia Restoration project by Kosamare will address one of the most difficult and pressing challenges facing our oceans: climate change. “The oceans are largely regarded as a fragile system,” Alex McCaster said. “And, while this is true, we should not overlook their strength and resilience.” This belief in the enduring nature of our blue planet drives the restoration work that the organization does – especially through seagrass restoration. Seagrass meadows serve as critical habitats and foraging grounds for many marine species. They’re also an important blue carbon sink because they reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Therefore, seagrass restoration is also important climate work. “Posidonia oceanica [(commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed)] is one of the most important ecosystems in the Mediterranean,” a Kosamare representative said. “It is protected under the EU Birds and Habitats Directive but still faces major threats, including significant impacts from recreational boating.” According to Kosamare, the in-depth surveys of seagrass meadows required to start the project were made possible through grant funding from PADI AWARE. “We have also been able to engage with students from Greece and all over Europe through our scientific diving program, engaging them in our work through a bespoke training program,” a representative said. This is the real goal, Kosamare added. “The engagement of the local community in direct and meaningful protection and restoration of Posidonia meadows in the north of Kefalonia” would be a true measure of success for this program, the representative said. “It would demonstrate the ability of small organizations and communities to mobilize for change in the face of the climate crisis.”

This PADI AWARE Grantee is mapping the population of Green Sea Turtles and the seagrass beds they frequent in Dauin, Philippines, through detailed professional surveys and citizen science images taken by divers. Mike’s Dauin Beach Resort hopes mapping the population of green sea turtles in Dauin, called Project Pawikan, will be the beginning of an ongoing process of understanding and appreciating the enigmatic animals and the challenges they face. Project Pawikan will help raise awareness, locally and beyond, of the importance of seagrass bes as Green Turtle foraging grounds, and the need to improve their protection. The Project can inform decision-makers on how to safeguard Dauin's sea turtles for future generations. The local turtle population recently came to light within marine sanctuaries protecting coral reefs, but the seagrass beds green sea turtles depend upon exist mostly outside the Marine Sanctuaries, and are unmapped. Mike’s Dauin Beach Resort hopes that showing the important role seagrass beds play in hosting this population may lead to greater protections of these invaluable habitats. “We are passionate about protecting them and their habitat, so more people may appreciate these gentle ocean ambassadors,” said Jonathan Anderson, Project Pawikan Officer. The materials and methodology developed and used by Project Pawikan will be made freely available to anyone who wants to conduct similar fact-finding missions in their locality. Why are sea turtles and seagrass beds important to study? Sea turtles are an indicator species - a stable, healthy population is often a sign of a healthy environment. While nesting beaches have long been recognised and protected by law, they are often not where the turtles spend most of their lives. Green Turtles in particular rely on seagrass beds, and may spend years foraging in the same small areas before traveling vast distances to mate and nest. Project Pawikan aims to reveal if Dauin is a foraging area, and encourage protection of these often unrecognized areas. For Anderson, protecting these animals is personal. “Over the years, we have seen the same animals again and again, and have come to recognise them through patterns, colours, even a missing fin,” he says. “Encountering them is like a visit with old friends, and we are honoured to share their home.”

Survey fish and assess the seabed in Setiba Marine Protection Area to advise the local government in Brazil. Acqua Sub will be carrying out surveys of reef fish species in the Setiba MPA, in Guarapari, Brazil. This is to assess the local ecosystem in terms of the threats, and challenges faced, as well as share successes back to the local government. If Ivan Costa Santos has his way, he will protect marine life and the environment in and around Setiba Marine Protection Area in Brazil. His dive shop, Acqua Sub, will use their PADI AWARE Foundation Community Grant, to get closer to that. “I believe that this grant will be a start to future actions together with the local community, encouraging participation as citizen scientists,” said Santos. “I will consider this a success if I manage to sensitize the local government to increase the environmental enforcement and expand the Setiba MPA from Três Ilhas to Ilha Escalvada and Ilha Rasas.” MPAs are powerful and effective methods for protecting ocean life. They are clearly-defined geographic spaces managed for long-term conservation. MPAs conserve biodiversity, enhance resilience, bolster fisheries and serve as an “insurance policy” against other fisheries management policies. They’re critical to protecting and restoring endangered species and degraded ecosystems. That said, they are only as effective if there are enough protections afforded to marine life, extractive activities prohibited, and enforcement procedures and personnel. “I know this goal is very ambitious for this project,” Santos said. “However, I believe it is a beginning, the kick off.” The funding will be used to help the shop survey reef fish species in Setiba MPA and its surroundings to determine whether the marine protected area (MPA) is sufficient to conserve the reef fish in Guarapari, Brazil. They will also assess the seabed to determine the predominant type of cover and to record damages and potential threats. Data will be collected on 25 field expeditions through visual observation during scuba diving, freediving, and remote marine monitoring. The work will be done in partnership with IEMA, the environmental agency in the governing state of Espirito Santo. As part of the program, 2 spaces will be reserved for GoPRO students from the shop to join on the expeditions. Doing this work, Santos said, “I would feel very accomplished and with a legacy left for generations to come.”

Monitoring and treating Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in Honduras. The Whale Shark & Oceanic Research Center (WSORC) in Utila, Honduras invites anyone to be part of the global solutions necessary for our oceans. Founded as a whale shark research center, they’ve expanded to other ocean conservation issues. Their PADI AWARE Foundation’s Community Grant will be used specifically to monitor and treat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) in the Caribbean. “The grant received is allowing us to fight Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease head-on…,” said WSORC’s Rebecca Engle. “The grant will allow us to monitor and treat vital coral colonies to help maintain species and genetic diversity on our reefs as well as gather data on the relatively new disease.” Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), is a devastating coral disease that is threatening the extinction of nearly 30 Caribbean coral species. Its destructive qualities are unprecedented in modern coral science. First noticed in 2014 in Miami, the disease has now spread throughout the Florida Reef Tract and jumped around the world. In the Caribbean, it is wiping out coral species that have been around for millions of years and specific coral colonies 100s of years old. Scarily, it can wreak total destruction in a matter of months. Scientists are still working to understand exactly what causes the disease and how to best treat sick corals. Leading techniques often involve an antibiotic paste, firebreaks, and rescuing healthy corals before a disease front hits. According to Engle, the success of this project would be seeing the treated coral colonies heal and remain healthy. Beyond that, she and her team at WSORC are educating their interns, who hail from all over the world, in treatment and monitoring processes. Their hope is that the latter will return to their communities with useful and effective knowledge and skills. “Hopefully, we will see those protocols implemented throughout the Caribbean to hopefully contain the disease and slow the spread,” Engle said. Her hope is that their efforts will slow the spread of SCTLD across the reefs, allowing the corals some time to recover. This would make them “happy beyond words,” she said. “We remain very optimistic", seeing the worldwide collaboration between countries and communities against this disease has also brought her so much joy. Watching everyone “do what it takes to protect the reefs” and knowing that her team had a part in that keeps her going.