Coral mariculture using abandoned abalone farming ponds in northeastern Taiwan

Abstract

Stony corals are ecologically and economically important marine organisms. Coral aquaculture is essential to provide live coral materials for the marine ornamental trade, reef restoration programs, and environmental education. This study sought to establish coral farms in Taiwan. To culture corals, we adopted an abandoned abalone farming pond built along the northeastern coast of Taiwan, and investigated whether it is possible to propagate corals in this artificial environment. Stainless steel underwater tables were anchored to the pond floor, and fragments of Acropora tumida, Pocillopora damicornis, Stylophora pistillata, Favites pentagona, and Porites lobata were cultured on the tables for one year. Environmental factors in the pond were also monitored. The mean surface temperature was 23.07 °C, ranging from >30 °C in summer to 18 °C in winter. The mean salinity and pH were about 35 ppt and 8.14, respectively. Survivorship of these five species after one year ranged from 100% to 67%, with a 1.37–1.51-fold increase in weight and a 3.22–3.38-fold increase in area, demonstrating that although environmental factors fluctuate depending on the season and weather, long-term and stable asexual propagation of corals is feasible in the pond. For further optimization of culture conditions, the effects of initial fragment size for culture on subsequent survival and growth were investigated. Fragments of 3 sizes (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 cm) were prepared from parental colonies of A. tumida, P. damicornis, and S. pistillata and cultured for 6 months by hanging them under the table. There were no significant differences in survivorship among these sizes. Differences were observed in biomass (weight) increase. In A. tumida, 3-cm fragments showed significantly more weight gain than other lengths, while 1.5-cm fragments showed a significant weight increase in P. damicornis. In S. pistillata, no significant difference in weight increase was observed among size groups, suggesting the necessity to optimize the initial fragment size for culture for each species before mass culture. Histological analysis showed that mature gametes were formed in some cultured corals, suggesting that sexual propagation may also be possible in the future. The established coral farm, which is culturing >4000 coral fragments now, will be able to support not only basic and applied coral research, but also sustainable reef development and marine ornamental trade.