Australian-first coral restoration research project underway at Agincourt Reef!

One of the most exciting and topical research projects Quicksilver is currently involved in is a Coral Restoration Project at our Agincourt 3 platform. Coral reefs around the world are susceptible to many types of impacts both natural and man-made. The small coral bommie under restoration was impacted by cyclonic waves a few years ago and with an unstable substrate, natural recovery was impeded.

Simply, the project involves the installation of three steel mesh panels of 1.5 x 3 metres size to grow coral ‘recruits’ connected to a power source. This is the first time this type of project has ever been conducted in Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. It was installed in July 2018 and shown in this short video clip.

Tony Baker, Managing Director of the Quicksilver Group said “We are extremely pleased to be part of this innovative Australia first research project. We believe this reef restoration project can build resilience into our site and enhance this specific coral bommie.  We hope within one year the “powered” coral will have no visual signs of the support structures.  By making this research project visible to our snorkellers, we are confident that our passengers will gain a further understanding of reef systems and how Quicksilver is being pro-active in assisting the rehabilitation of coral reefs.”

This groundbreaking research project can be viewed by our guests who are snorkelling at the platform. It is being conducted in partnership with researchers from Reef Ecologic and Quicksilver’s Reef Biosearch team of marine biologists under permit from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

It is hoped that this rehabilitation technique will assist in making areas such as this research site, more resilient to stress in future natural disturbances. If successful, this technology could help support reef resilience in many locations across the Great Barrier Reef and other reef systems in the world.