The Bahamas has launched an aggressive national conservation initiative to address and reverse the devastating effects of warming ocean temperatures and a disease ravaging its coral reefs. The country’s first coral gene bank is operated and managed by coral experts from the Perry Institute of Marine Science. The biosecure facility opened today at Atlantis Paradise Island to house, propagate, and replant healthy coral on damaged reefs.

“Coral has become increasingly endangered over the years, but the introduction of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease completely changed the game and created extreme urgency to act,” said Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS) Executive Director Dr. Craig Dahlgren. “Transmitted among corals through direct contact and water circulation, the disease has spread to all major Bahamian islands and causes a high death rate in corals. Treatments are emerging slowly, but corals need to be rescued and isolated from the disease while these methods are perfected.”

Part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ global Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program, onsite management of the new bank is led by PIMS experts, including a former Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) graduate and student interns from BAMSI and the University of The Bahamas, with support from marine-life experts at Atlantis.

“Our collective vision is not only to preserve coral currently under threat, but also to foster new generations of corals that, when planted, are more resilient to disease and other dangers. Longstanding support and funding from our contributors and supporters, including Disney Conservation Fund, Atlantis Paradise Island, and Atlantis Blue Project Foundation, have been essential in making this national effort possible.”

“Our investment in the Coral Gene Bank builds on Disney’s decades-long commitment to protecting coral in The Bahamas,” said Andy Stamper, Conservation Science Manager for Disney Conservation. “This facility is a vital step toward preserving biodiversity and restoring reef health for generations to come.”

The Bahamas Coral Gene Bank can accommodate up to 200 large, mature coral colonies, in addition to smaller fragments and juvenile corals. PIMS has already rescued and relocated fifteen coral species to the biosecure Gene Bank research facility. Coral fragments collected from the ocean are placed in pristine, on-site aquaria, and once stable, they grow and reproduce quickly with the aid of innovative reproduction techniques such as lunar-cycle simulations.