Coral Conservation at The Andaman Langkawi

Coral Nursery at The Andaman

At The Andaman, I learnt about coral conservation through a Coral Nursery Session with Dr Gerry Goeden. Dr Gerry is the consultant Marine Biologist at the Coral Nursery, the resort’s sustainability project to nurture and grow new colonies.

Learning about corals

Mushroom coral

“Each little hole in the coral was where one animal lived.” -Dr Gerry Geoden-

Dr Gerry

Dr Gerry  was a scientist based in Australia and retired into Malaysia about 7 years ago through the “Malaysia My Second Home” programme. He’s been working on the Coral Nursery for the past 12 months and is very passionate about coral conservation. He hopes to start moving the corals out to the reef to replace the damaged ones caused by overfishing and development.

Giant clam

Sea urchin

Blue spotted stingray

Brain coral

Staghorn coral

The nursery is home to a variety of marine life such as blue spotted stingray, razor fish, clown fish, lobster, clams and an assortment of corals.  Ocean water is pumped into the nursery daily to keep it going.

Sergeant major fish

Mushroom coral

Green giant clam

Dead corals from the sea are recycled at the nursery where the minerals are used by propagated corals to escalate their growth. The nursery not only serves as a rehabilitation centre for rescued damaged coral; guests have the opportunity to learn about the process of nurturing these new polyps.

Another giant clam

Sea grapes

More brain corals

Soft mushroom coral

Hi Nemo! (clown fish)

I was given a tour of the coral pool by Randy the coral curator, and he spoke about all the different marine life in the pool. Since he did all the talking and guiding me around, I got to enjoy the beautiful sights and take plenty of pictures.

Razor fish

The baby corals are kept in the nursery for nine to twelve months (like a maternity ward) and once the corals are ready, they are placed back on the reef. Dr Gerry shared that there are over 600 types of corals in the world and Langkawi boasts one of the richest rainforests and coral reefs in the world.

Slipper coral

With this effort, The Andaman team hopes to produce several thousands of coral colonies and a few hundred anemones each year. Very few places in the world can offer a tropical rainforest and coral reef within 100 meters from each other, but The Andaman can!

For more information, visit www.theandaman.com or call +60 4 959 1088. ‘Like’ The Andaman Langkawi on Facebook here.

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The Andaman Langkawi
Jalan Teluk Datai
Langkawi, Kedah
Tel: +604-959 1088