Saving the Coral Reefs in the Turks & Caicos Islands

After lunch, we loaded onto the shuttle van and headed to our next activity. We had an appointment there, but we didn’t feel the need to rush. After all, this is island time, or so we thought.

“I waited to feed them until you got here. I feed them every Wednesday at precisely two o’clock,” our guide, Gracie Perry-Garnette, emphasized with a sense of urgency. “Let’s get them fed, then I’ll answer questions,” she continued, her focus unwavering on the crucial task—feeding the coral.

The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic, about 575 miles southeast of Miami. It consists of eight main islands and several minor keys. The easiest way to experience the activities that highlight the work of the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund is to stay in Providenciales at the Ocean Club Resorts.

The Caicos Bank, the largest of the TCI, is where you’ll find the headquarters of the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund. Don Stark and David Stone formed the Reef Fund in 2010. The TCI reefs, the second-largest barrier reef system in the Western Hemisphere, are home to an estimated 60 species of hard and soft coral. 

Scuba diving publications consistently rate the striking underwater walls among the world’s top wall diving destinations. This is due primarily to the over 250 fish species living on the vibrant coral reefs around the islands. However, coral reefs are increasingly at risk due to various environmental pressures.

Perry-Garnette is a Coral Aquarist with the Reef Fund, which is dedicated to preserving and protecting the TCI environment through education, research, and advocacy. Today, the organization oversees 180 corals and 11 species. Coral bleaching, overfishing, rising global temperatures, and environmental degradation impact coral reefs’ survival. The Reef Fund acts for corals like the Colorado Seed Bank does for plants, guarding and protecting them should the need to start over arise.

What are Corals?

Corals are tiny organisms composed of many polyps growing together. They make their homes by removing calcium and carbonic acid (limestone) from the water. Limestone is white. Corals, like jellyfish, have transparent bodies. You might wonder why we see so many colorful corals, then. The microalgae called zooxanthellae living inside the coral polyp’s body create the color.

Zooxanthellae exist in a symbiotic relationship with coral. The algae have a safe place to live and make food for themselves and the coral polyp via photosynthesis. The coral polyp receives a lot of its nutrition from the zooxanthellae. However, the zooxanthellae are particular about where they live. If the water temperature gets too warm, the water quality deteriorates. Then, the zooxanthellae become stressed and produce chemicals the coral polyps don’t like. So, the polyps expel the zooxanthellae. What remains is just their transparent body against their white limestone home. Coral bleaching is just the loss of the zooxanthellae from the coral.

This isn’t a good situation for the coral polyps. While they can self-feed by grabbing plankton that drift by with their tentacles, that isn’t enough food for the animal’s long-term survival. The coral polyp will die if the water temperature stays too warm or the water quality remains poor for too long. However, if the temperature and water quality return to normal quickly, the zooxanthellae will return, and the coral will survive.

Rising ocean temperatures threaten coral reefs by causing large-scale bleaching events, which have occurred several times globally over the last three decades.

Coral reefs take many years to form, as most corals grow relatively slowly, adding only an inch or less to their size each year. However, some corals grow much faster, such as staghorn coral, which can grow up to eight inches annually. This type of coral is near extinction due to a coral disease that wiped out most of its growth in the 1980s. Because of its slow growth rate, a large coral reef can be thousands of years old, underscoring the need for conservation.

Partnering with the Ocean Club Resorts 

In November 2024, Ocean Club Resorts started partnering with the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund to offer guests an opportunity to learn about and support the organization’s efforts to educate and protect the coral reef ecosystem. Guests can donate $2 per night through their guest check directly to the Reef Fund to support their efforts.

Additionally, the resorts will coordinate transportation and appointments to help guests visit the center and learn about the organization. Although they only feed the coral reefs on Wednesdays, you may visit any day to learn more.

The resorts were the first Green Globe Certified properties in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Leading the way in sustainability, the resorts had to pass rigorous eco-friendly tests and audits. They were Green Globe certified in 2021.

The Reef Fund

The corals at the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund live in tanks. The BioBank tank is the biggest in the facility, with 400 gallons across three tanks. Since Gracie feeds the corals at the same time of day on the same day of the week, this has caused a sort of Pavlovian response from the corals. 

On the day of our group’s visit, she turned off the extra flow in the tanks, and the corals appeared to realize they’d be fed soon. The response from the corals is an active extension of their tentacles even before the small wake-up call feeding occurs. In wake-up call feeding, she adds food to the water, not directed at any coral in particular. It gives the corals a sense they’ll be fed soon. Then, she waits about 25 minutes after the wake-up call feeding before doing the actual coral feeding.

Using a turkey baster, Gracie carefully squirts a mixture of rehydrated freeze-dried marine plankton, crab meal, fish meal, and amino acids into the tanks to feed the corals. If you observe, you’ll see the corals reaching for the food particles as they float closer to them. The corals don’t move but are stationary on tiles within the tanks, lit with a black light.

Perry-Garnette feeds the corals only once a week because they get 85 to 90 percent of their food energy from the zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae produce extra sugars during photosynthesis, which the corals receive. Feeding the corals simultaneously regularly every week encourages visitors to see them being fed and learn about the corals. 

Pro Tip: If your visit is on Wednesday and you want to see the coral feeding, plan to arrive no later than 1:45 p.m.

If You Go to See the Reef Fund

Since the official language is English and the official currency is the US dollar, Turks and Caicos make an easy island getaway with little extra preparation. However, you will need a passport to visit.

Getting There

You’ll want to fly to Providenciales International Airport (PLS). Most major airlines have direct flights from southern US cities, such as Charlotte, North Carolina, and Miami. Providenciales is in the Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies, a short 85-minute flight from Miami.

Accommodations

Ocean Club and Ocean Club West are on Provo’s Grace Bay Beach. The beach is a 12-mile stretch of white sand beach and crystal-clear turquoise sea on the island’s northeast coast. Grace Bay Beach has been called the most beautiful beach in the world.

Ocean Club West is pedestrian-friendly and centrally located near Providenciales’ shops and restaurants. The Ocean Club is adjacent to the Provo Golf Club.

You can indulge in spa treatments, sailing, snorkeling, diving, fishing, or parasailing. Then, there’s always the option of simply relaxing under one of Ocean Club’s signature pink beach umbrellas with a good book.

Getting Around

Airport Transfers
Taxi service to the Ocean Club Resorts costs about $18 to $20 per person, based on a shared ride. Taxi rates are government-mandated and available throughout Providenciales.

Shuttle Service Between Resorts
As a guest of Ocean Club Resorts, you can take a complimentary shuttle between Ocean Club and Ocean Club West. This makes experiencing the restaurants at the sister property as easy as the ocean breeze.

Bicycles

Ocean Club Resorts offers complimentary adult bicycles to explore the Grace Bay area.

Restaurants

Between the two resorts, you’ll find three restaurant partners located onsite. The Cabana Bar and Grill and Opus Bar Grill are located at the Ocean Club Resort. At Ocean Club Resort West, you’ll find Solana.

The Cabana Bar and Grill features an excellent selection of seafood, and the Opus Bar Grill is the resort’s upscale, fine-dining option. Solana offers al fresco dining overlooking Grace Bay, where it is known for its sushi.

Pro Tip: While the islands only sell reef-safe sunscreen to protect coral reefs, if you bring sunscreen, purchase reef-safe sunscreen.

To read more about Ocean Club Resorts, check out this article, “Indulge in Luxury at Ocean Club Resorts on Turks & Caicos.”

To discover more of Piper’s adventures, read her blog at Follow the Piper.