CAT PPALU CITIZEN SCIENTIST
Join us for 6 days on the Cat Ppalu Liveaboard during their Citizen Scientist week! Experience the beautiful reefs, wrecks and walls in the Exumas.
The Citizen Scientist program gives recreational divers a hands-on opportunity to help with various reef enhancement projects. It’s an easy way to learn about and get involved in nurturing the future of the reefs of the Bahamas.
"Conservation has always been a pillar of our organization. Over the years we have conducted research on lionfish for NOAA, coral reef surveys, and efforts to revive diadema sea urchin populations on our reefs." - Allstar Liveaboards, Cat Ppalu Citizen Scientist Trip.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
Our efforts are designed to help restore diadema populations to struggling reefs by translocating them, as well as beginning a coral out planting nursery. The nursery is in the very early stages as it is still being constructed and only a few corals have been placed there. In another 8-12 months, we expect it to expand quite a bit.
The sea urchin (diadema) aspect of the project will be ongoing and monitoring the reef sites is the key to success. Progress is slow due to the nature of the project so we expect changes will not be visible for a little while longer.
Eight sites have been selected (4 in the Exumas and 4 in Eleuthera) for relocation of sea urchins and so far results are promising as we have seen the relocated urchins months later.
All of these efforts are to help improve coral reef populations through the urchin relocation, coral out planting, reef monitoring, and education to make a positive impact on the struggling reefs. The data will hopefully be used in the future by Bahamian government affiliates to better protect these ecosystems.
Update from August 14, 2021 Diadema Trip:
We recently conducted a citizen scientist trip aboard Cat Ppalu where 9 eager divers assisted with our reef restoration efforts. Throughout the week we focused our attention on Pillar Wall, clearing a large section of the reef of algae so that we could relocate diadema sea urchin. Over 50 sea urchins were relocated and can now call Pillar Wall home and will act as landscapers for the reef. Barracuda Shoals, one of our regular dive sites, has seen a 262% increase in coral cover over the last 15 years, which can almost entirely be attributed to the repopulation of sea urchins.
What's Included:
-All diving
-Food, snacks and drinks
-Port fees
-Bus transfer fees
Not Included:
-Airfare
-Tips for the boat crew
-Souvenirs on boat
Trip price: $2065
Payment schedule: $500 deposit due upon booking. $500 due 6 months prior to departure. Remainder is due 120 days prior to departure. Payments are non-refundable 120 days prior to departure unless canceled spots are filled.
