By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A pioneering Grand Bahama project yesterday revealed it can now “accelerate” its coral reef restoration work and add “the wow factor” to its eco-tourism product through a $1.03m funding injection.

Sam Teicher, who co-founded Coral Vita with Gaitor Halpern, told Tribune Business that the grant financing which has been made available via the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Multilateral Investment Fund will enable the project to create “an amazing experience” that drives more visitors and tourism-related spending to Grand Bahama.

With the island poised to attract several million visitors as early as 2025 via the opening of Carnival’s $600m Celebration key private cruise port destination, he explained that the increased tourism revenues will provide additional funding for Coral Vita to expand its coral growing and reef restoration activities throughout The Bahamas.

And, in what is effectively intended to create a ‘full circle’ economy, Mr Teicher told this newspaper that the coral reef restoration activities will boost both the fisheries industry through reviving fish populations and the tourism sector by enhancing marine-based activities such as diving and snorkelling. This, in turn, will help attract extra visitors to The Bahamas and Coral Vital, further expanding the latter’s coral restoration funding.

Confirming that the financing, being made available as part of an initiative called ‘Reef positive: Restoring ocean health through smart coral farming’, will help create additional Bahamian jobs at Coral Vita, he added the details as well as the exact nature of the eco-tourism upgrades are still being worked out.

The IDB, though said: “The main objective of the project is to contribute to the conservation of marine biodiversity through the restoration of coral reefs and enhancement of local eco-tourism attractions. This project aims to support the local community by upgrading Coral Vita’s farm tourism destination, providing a unique and attractive snorkelling experience that highlights the importance of coral reef conservation.”

Recalling Coral Vita’s progress since it opened on Grand Bahama six years ago, Mr Teicher said of the imminent $1.03m capital injection: “The grant is really going to help us upgrade and accelerate the work we’re doing. The funding will pay for infrastructure upgrades at the farm to enhance the tourism and education experience.

“Also, the number of people visiting the island is expected to increase with everything from the Six Senses resort to the Carnival cruise port and upgrades to the existing cruise port at Freeport Harbour and when the airport gets upgraded. It’s all about increasing the capacity of the farm so it will be much more of a world-class experience for eco-tourism and training.

“We’ll continue growing coral to restore the local reefs, which has coastal protection and fisheries benefits. We are restoring reefs in Grand Bahama for the benefit of the island, the economy and the community. As the farm continues to grow, we’ll be able to help restore reefs throughout the country,” he explained.

“We can grow coral to revitalise reefs throughout The Bahamas. The grant puts us on the pathway to revitalise Bahamian reefs. It’s great for Coral Vita, great for local businesses, great for the local community and great for The Bahamas, and having a greater multiplier effect is what we are working for.”

Increased revenues generated by Coral Vita’s farm and eco-tourism attraction will thus enable the project to ramp-up coral growing production and revitalise more reefs that are increasingly endangered by ocean warming and the perils of climate change. And it is these same reefs and ecosystems that sustain much of The Bahamas’ ocean or ‘blue economy’, particularly fisheries as well as tourism.

Mr Teicher said it was too early to give details on what Coral Vita will use the financing for, or the nature of the planned upgrades, telling Tribune Business: “That’s still getting finalised. We’re not sure of that. It’s definitely going to be an immersive, experiential and exciting product at the farm that will definitely bring the ‘wow factor’ and be an amazing experience that brings more people to The Bahamas.

“The better the tourism attraction it is, the more work we can do to restore reefs which has its own benefits to the Bahamian economy, fisheries and the environment..... We’re just trying to take it from excellent to great.”

Asked about the IDB’s reference to “a unique and attractive snorkelling experience”, Mr Teicher replied: “That’s a continuation of the work we’ve been doing in protecting coral reefs, boosting the fisheries population. That has benefits for local tour operators and dive shops. All that comes together as one as far as the restoration work.

“We are already being marketed. We’ve worked with the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Grand Bahama. We are marketed by Carnival and Royal Caribbean on their ships. Six Senses is not built yet, they’re marketing our farm as part of Grand Bahama’s appeal as a destination. If you come to the farm, we’re growing coral to restore reefs.

“We don’t have an exact projection [for visitor numbers], but when we consider the number of new tourists coming to Grand Bahama because of the Carnival cruise port (estimated at 2.2m per year initially), because of Six Senses, because of Freeport Harbour, because of the airport, we think there will be a lot of people and Coral Vita will be a huge part of the ‘blue economy’ and nature-based tourism that benefits everyone in Grand Bahama.”

Coral Vita already possesses a welcome centre and education facilities, with visitors able to “almost walk right up to the ocean” and watch live coral being grown in tanks. A conch hatchery and mangrove nursery are also key components of the project, which numbers Blue Action Lab and Waterkeepers Bahamas among its partners.

Mr Teicher, in an October 2021 interview with Tribune Business, revealed that Coral Vita was aiming to ramp up coral growing production to one million pieces per year. “We’re not there yet,” he conceded yesterday, “but we are seeing a very good impact on the reefs. We did a recent [reef restoration] project that was funded by the Government, and another one that was funded by the Grand Bahama Port Authority.”

Pointing to two other completed reef restorations funded by the private sector, the Coral Vita co-founder said: “We did a survey at one of the restoration sites. As a result of our restoration at one site in Grand Bahama, there were two times’ as many fish as before and the coral was surviving the warming ocean.”

Contrasting this with the amount of coral that has died over the past two years due to rising sea temperatures, he added that Coral Vita’s work is having “a meaningful impact which benefits fishermen, the local economy and coastal property owners”.

The importance of The Bahamas’ coral reefs to the ecosystems it underpins, and the sustainability of this nation’s tourism, maritime and ocean (fisheries) industries, was detailed in this nation’s recent submissions to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which is being asked to provide an advisory opinion on the obligations that different states have to fight climate change.

“As the home to 5 percent of the world’s coral reefs and the world’s third-longest barrier reef, The Bahamas has experienced severe bleaching and mass coral mortality. For example, in July 2023, scientists recorded ocean temperatures in Bahamian territorial waters as high as 33 degrees centigrade,” The Bahamas told the ICJ.

“These exceptionally high water temperatures lasted for several months, and caused a devastating mass bleaching event.... Coral reefs are important to The Bahamas’ biodiversity and act as a vital part of the country’s natural defence system against storm surges and erosion.

“Anthropogenic ocean warming alters the biodiversity and ecosystemic functioning of coral reefs, causing severe ecosystem loss due to coral bleaching. The destruction of coral reef ecosystem has significant environmental as well as economic implications for The Bahamas,” this country added.

“The array of coral reefs in Bahamian waters are a central attraction for diving and other activities, and accordingly draw tourists and support the tourism economy. Coral destruction also impacts fish stock, which is vital for employment and nutritional sustenance.”

It is these impacts that Coral Vita is seeking to mitigate and reverse. It uses ‘micro fragmentation’ to accelerate coral reef growth and, relying solely on species native to The Bahamas to also provide diversity, says it can grow pieces “up to 50 times’ faster” than rival farms using conventional techniques.

“The Bahamas would not exist without coral reef,” Mr Teicher said in 2021. “The limestone under your feet came from a reef..... We’re starting in Grand Bahama, but are very interested to restore reefs throughout The Bahamas. We’re in it for the long haul. We’ll be around for a few years yet....

“I think this is as important as it could be. There’s a real opportunity to create local jobs behind a whole restoration economy that preserves the ecosystems that sustain all of us. There’s a myriad of benefits that this can provide if we scale it up.

“The Bahamas, the Bahamian people and the economy really need healthy ecosystems, and it’s not just a matter of protecting them but creating this whole new Blue Economy, protecting the ecosystems that protect us all and driving jobs and revenue throughout the country.”