We are so thrilled to announce that we have helped to purchase the land on which we will be able to build a biobank for Tela’s rare, resilient corals by providing a grant to Tela Marine. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts to all our donors who helped make this part of the vision for the Rebel Reef possible!

The land is absolutely perfect. It’s right on the water, making it ideal for seawater systems. It’s in a part of the bay where erosion is not ever fierce, even during a tough winter like this last one. And it’s located adjacent to one of the most popular hotels in Tela, so that we can ultimately offer public programs about coral and coral farming to visitors, making the biobank a sustainable entity.

Although Tela’s coral have shown remarkable resilience and the rare elkhorns are thought to be the most thermotolerant in the Caribbean, they are not invincible. In fact, we have seen corals affected by an acute mass mortality and we saw some coral disease on an outer reef this year. So, it’s urgent to get the coral out of the water and into robust aquaria systems known as biobanks so we can protect their genetics as soon as possible.

We are still fundraising to develop the facilities that need to be built on the property. Your donations will help us build the first marine biology laboratory in Honduras as well as the aquarium systems that will comprise the biobank. If you need more information, please reach out. (As a reminder, Tela Coral is a 501(c)3.

Here’s a short film about our plans!