Aquaculture department assists the Monaco Expedition with international transfer of live coral |16 December 2022

In a first operation of its kind in Seychelles, the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) Aquaculture department successfully managed to preserve a group of30 live corals from the Aldabra Atoll while outside of their natural habitat for four days before being air freighted to Musée océanographique in Monaco, last month.

Such a project was made possible when L'institut de Recherche et de Développement (IRD) advised The Coral Conservatory team and Oceanographic Institute and Centre Scientifique de Monacoabout the potential for the Aquaculture department to assist them with the holding of live corals. After hosting two Zoom meetings, it was agreed that SFA had the facility to assist them with the request, which started the process to assist the team accordingly. 

This was the first type of support activity since the opening of the Aquaculture department’s BAQF facility in 2019. It proved a unique learning opportunity for the department on these invertebrates, their acclimatisation and how to transport live corals with the available infrastructure and facilities. Such a project was also timely for the team as they are currently working with similar species as part of ornamental farming in Seychelles.

The corals were delivered to the BAQF on Saturday October 30 after being transported from the Commercial Port in small Styrofoam boxes, for optimal preservation at lower temperatures. The boxes were then transported in the SFA truck to the BAQF at Providence. There, the corals were transferred individually into the circular tanks with running water and adequate UV lighting for optimal conditions while acclimatising to the new environment. They were observed daily, and the water temperature was monitored to ensure that all the specimens were still alive and doing well. The most notable challenge that the department faced was to identify relevant authorities and agencies to get the signatures for the veterinary and phytosanitary certificates, that would allow the corals to enter France and Monaco from Seychelles. The corals were packed and departed the BAQF on Thursday November 4.

The head of the Aquaculture department, Aubrey Lesperance, said: “The Aquaculture department was proud to have been part of the project to keep and transport some live corals as part of the Coral Conservatory team and Oceanographic Institute and Centre Scientifique de Monaco's request for assistance. I am very proud that our team of Aquaculture technicians and officers were able to learn new skills in live coral handling and provide such an honourable service to the team. We thank the team for choosing the SFA for assisting them in delivering a service to them and we look forward to future collaborations.”

The head of the Aquarium at the Musée Océanographique in Monaco, Olivier Brunel, said: “The corals arrived as scheduled and were pretty well except 2 or 3 colonies that needed to have a special attention to. The mission in the Seychelles was the first one for our Conservatory project and it was pretty challenging for us but we made it. On behalf of the Coral Conservatory team, we really want to thank the whole team at SFA. This mission wouldn’t have been possible without their facilities and their help with the organisation and processes.”

The team in Monaco, was very satisfied that the corals arrived in Monaco safe and sound. They have vowed to maintain the colonies for scientific and educational purposes. The expedition was also part of a wider programme in the Western Indian Ocean Region to better understand the various habitats along the Mascarenes Plateau which also includes corals in the shallows.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the coral storage process.

Text & photos contributed