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SINGAPORE: In what's hailed as a momentous occasion for conservationists in Singapore, experts will be transplanting some corals which were grown in a nursery to their new home.
The progress comes a year after the coral nursery was set up.
Fragments used to seed new corals are growing strong after they were cultivated in Singapore's first coral nursery, located off the waters of Semakau island, on Singapore's southern coast.
The nursery was set up to conserve and regenerate Singapore's dwindling coral numbers.
Professor Chou Loke Ming, Biological Science Department, National University of Singapore (NUS), said: "What we are trying to do is to slow down the decline and expand the areas where corals can regrow."
And their plan has worked. Experts said they aim to move the cultivated corals to their new home in six months' time. This will revive sea beds that once thrived with corals.
Conservationists said coral reefs in Asia are being threatened. In Singapore's waters alone, coral reef mass has reduced by 60 per cent.
Karan Teo, and avid diver, said: "I've been diving around Asia and sometimes I see reefs that are broken. It's very sad for a diver because what we do is go down there to enjoy a marine life that is untarnished but when we see corals ruined, it's a sad thing."
So that is why the NUS, the National Parks Board and Keppel Group have joined hands in this US$300,000 project to revive the corals around Singapore's waters. - CNA/vm
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