Local MP visits The Coral Centre as it makes waves in Coral Reef Conservation

The UK’s largest sustainable coral provider, The Coral Centre, received a visit from Meon Valley’s MP, Flick Drummond, to discuss the great work the company has been doing in coral conservation research. Mrs Drummond visited ‘Coral HQ’ on Friday 29th May and received a tour from the founder and Managing Director of The Coral Centre, Rob Peck.

The local MP observed the challenges that the business has faced over the pandemic, and despite this, how Rob has continued to be heavily involved in vital sustainability research. The most impressive project that The Coral Centre has been making great strides in, is The CoralPod™in collaboration with Ecological Engineering Specialists, Artecology. Mrs Drummond was shown the impressive 900mm cube tank that is home to living coral fragments and fish from tropical waters  to explore how this prototype of a manmade ecosystem habitat could be replicated in coral reefs around the world. Over the past six months, the project has had great success and is showing promising signs of how it may be able to support and save our rapidly declining biodiversity in the oceans. 

Additionally, Rob has begun a cutting edge project for the aquatic industry recently, when he visited the University of Derby, the world’s leading captive coral spawning institution, to deliver some of their own corals for spawning and explore how the pioneers nurture the process. Professor Michael Sweet gave Rob a tour of the spawning facility and took nine of The Coral Centre’s Micromussa Lordhowensi coral colonies to begin the spawning process. It will become evident in September if the corals are germinating, at which point, they will spawn in November this year. If this process is successful, The Coral Centre can take their corals back to HQ as spaws, meaning a world-first for the industry.

Mrs Drummond also discussed how she and The Coral Centre can work together to support legislation changes around marine life and biodiversity, both in the education sector and in the protection of our oceans.

When asked about her visit to Coral HQ, Meon Valley’s MP said

“I was thrilled to visit this company and to see how they are making a difference to our planet’s oceans through growing coral so we do not import it, through helping academic research and through practical solutions. Private enterprise like The Coral Centre has a huge role to play in tackling climate change and restoring our environment in tandem with research bodies, governments and other organisations. ‍It was a very interesting visit and I look forward to hearing more as the company grows.”

Founder of The Coral Centre, Rob Peck, said

“It was a very proud moment to have the local MP show an interest in our centre and research projects. It was an honour to show Mrs Drummond what we work so hard on at Coral HQ, and I hope this visit will spark further needed change to legislation and support regarding marine life conservation. We are extremely passionate about all our research into the protection and sustainability of biodiversity in our oceans, so it’s great to receive support from individuals who can elevate the profile of the change that needs to happen.”

To find out more about The Coral Centre, take a look at our corals, or pop in for a visit!