Nursery
. Using 15mm pvc piping as the main framework was too weak and broke up during rough weather conditions. We have now found that by using the plastic 'fork-lift' truck pallets that they are stronger and last longer, reducing costs for replacement.
. Mooring buoys supporting the nursery from the surface attracted the attention of local boatsmen that would use them to moor their boats putting additional stress on the nursery. We have found that by placing the mooring buoys under the platform that this reduces the effect of wave action, interference during monitoring and the option to moor boats on the nursery.
. Tagging corals in erratic orders caused a loss of time in identifying coral fragments. Invariably tags can become lost so it is easier to identify a fragment's number if the corals have been tagged in a special order. Our method is to tag all the fragments from left to right, to place all the tagged trays in order from left to right and to monitor, measure and photograph all the fragments and trays from left to right.
. Supervising the preparation work carefully reduces the loss of the corals (corals falling out of tubes, badly handled causing to much stress, use of too much superglue) during the nursery period. Assign a quality control person to each group to oversee the work.
Problems encountered
Planting. Planting by inexperienced volunteers can add to a number of problems. The most common ones are:
i. Planting fragments too close to other live corals
ii. Not inserting corals into the holes far enough. Thus the corals are not fixed strongly and can be pulled out by fish or wave action.
iii. There is a tendency to rush so as to accomplish as much as possible. It is better to plant 10 coral fragments perfectly and 9/10 survive than plant 30 fragments badly and only 15/30 survive.