New Taipei City and National Taiwan Ocean University had joined force to organize the program of Coral Classroom for 4 consecutive years as an effort of coral restoration. However, the program went online in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The instructors led students to know and understand what are corals and why they are important. Every student taking the program was given a coral larva. At the end of the online program, the coral breeders helped them by planting their coral larvae on coral substrates and divers transplanted the substrates on the coral breeding tables at the bottom of ocean pool at the Ocean Resource Restoration Park for coral breeding and restoration. 10 sessions of the program were organized in 2022 for 500 participants, which means 500 coral larvae were planted in the coral farm of New Taipei City Ocean Resource Restoration Park.
National Taiwan Ocean University indicated that the hardest part, which is taking care of these young corals, comes after the corals are planted. To ensure the corals grow up successfully, coral breeders dive into the coral farm to take care the corals periodically, remove large algae and pest sea snails covering the corals and document the corals’ growth. When a typhoon comes, the breeders have to relocate all the corals on the breeding tables of the coral farm into indoor breeding tanks, keeping them away from the devastating power of elements; and move them back into the coral farm as soon as typhoon is away, as to keeping the strong sunlight on land from compromising the growth of corals. The corals planted by the Coral Classroom grow up successfully thanks entirely to the meticulous efforts.
Miss Zhang Li-Zhen, Director of Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Management Office, New Taipei City, showed her gratitude to Ocean Conservation Administration for their recognition of New Taipei City Hall for the efforts in cooperating in policies like promotion of ocean conservation education and maintenance of marine ecology, improvement of marine environment, and ocean resource restoration. The City Hall will conduct ocean conservation education promotion and various marine conservation and restoration promotion activities continuously and actively to enhance public awareness of ocean conservation and build a healthy agricultural city.
