A researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences transplants corals in the South China Sea. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Last year, her team established a 600-square-meter experimental zone in the Nansha Islands, where they transplanted more than 1,500 coral branches and sank 87 artificial concrete reefs.
"I am pleased to see that public awareness of coral conservation has been growing rapidly since 2009," said Chen Chang, deputy director of a science research station in Xisha run by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology.
After years of studying coral reefs in the Xisha chain, including those on the Langhuajiao and Beijiao shoals, Chen proposed a plan to protect marine biological resources by establishing a coral reef ecosystem.
He made the proposal during this year's people's congress held in Sansha city, Hainan, which administers a number of islands, including Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha.
"In general, the environment in the South China Sea is getting better, but the speed of self-repair is slow. Human intervention is needed," Chen said, adding that in addition to the work undertaken by the government, Sansha residents, especially fishermen, should also participate in the conservation work. "We are trying to recover a complete ecosystem; no corals equals no fish, and no fish equals no fishermen," he said.
In recent years, his group has planted more than 10,000 coral branches, and he hopes to see more than 1 million planted during China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).
A range of threats
Illegal collection for the jewelry industry poses another threat to coral reefs.
Dark-red "oxblood" corals are the rarest, most coveted and most expensive.
