Davao Reef Divers Club

Announcement: Coral planting project details are here. The idea is to add to our dives, diving with purpose: to provide prime underwater areas with the infrastructure for coral growth. The group members who have been attending the monthly club meetings have been very supportive and are excited to participate in this project. For more information on similar projects look up Coral Gardeners on Instagram.
Our president Adrian has been meeting with DENR (Department of Environmental and Natural Resources). DENR staff include marine biologist who are coordinating and advising, providing technical support. Their staff have already assisted in one prior coral planting project. Adrian is already building two rebar based, dome like structures that are about two meters in diameter that divers can seed by attaching coral fragments to the structure. This is a proven system in other areas. They tend to last long enough for coral to build their own structures. DENR will be involved in harvesting frags, and ensure the corals are endemic to the area. The ideal depth for such structures is between 20-30 meters. The material cost for each dome is about 300 - 500 per dome. Adrian is building test domes and plans to hold workshops to build these domes. The domes will be secured to the sea floor. Domes can be lifted by one person alone.
One of the big concern is the potential of the efforts being thwarted by local illegal fishmen. The domes are known to support breeding of cuttlefish. So we are looking to do this in protected areas, in conjunction with local resorts who can provide security.
Adrian has been meeting with different resorts about this. Resort who benefit may help defer costs, and their entrance fees may be waived. And more importantly can provide some security from illegal fishing. These are ongoing discussions. For example, Paradise Resort is trying to create an underwater museum, and the owner is very supportive. However, experience tells us the currents here can be pretty strong. Isla Reta owners have also expressed interest. They have previously installed posts underwater to promote the coral growth. They would also like to promote the proliferation of their native black coral.
Other groups that may participate at some level are Dive with a cause from SPMC, and House of Hope for Kids.
The club under the leadership of Adrian who is also doing almost all of the work over the past several month, in planning and meeting with the necessary parties shared the following: He has been working with the Samal government, and the department of fisheries, as well as several resorts in the area including Paradise. The other things being considered are: 1) eventually getting other groups involved in the project who may participate on land based activities, sea based activities, and funding; 2) community extension program can provide funds. It can be educational and recreational for these groups who can also provide funding, giving the group fund raising

This was all discussed at our last meeting on April 8th.

Deployment begin on April 25! Come join our dive!