Freediver and photographer Titouan Bernicot grew up surrounded by the ocean. When he realised that his office, playground and sanctuary was under attack, he launched Coral Gardeners, which has been garnering support rapidly around the world and was the cover story of Oceanographic Issue 12. We sit down with the founder and CEO to discover more about the man behind the mission.

Oceanographic Magazine (OM): Where did you grow up and how did this connect you with the ocean?

Titouan Bernicot (TB): I grew up on Ahe, a small atoll in the North of the Tuamotu islands. My parents had a pearl farm there. When I was three years old, we moved to Mo’orea, the sister island of Tahiti, so I could go to school. Since I was a child, I have spent most of my time in the water, so I created a deep connection with the ocean. Coral reefs have given me everything in life, from the waves we surf to the fish we eat.

OM: Was there a specific moment when you realised you had to do something about the state of French Polynesia’s reefs?

TB: In 2015, when my friends and I went surfing we made a very concerning discovery: the corals under our feet had turned white. A few days later, they had perished. I felt surprised, curious and I wanted to understand what was happening. So, we did some research and we realised that if coral reefs disappeared, the entire balance of our oceans would be upset. I had to do something, that’s why I created Coral Gardeners – to save the reefs.

OM:  How is freediving important to your work?

TB: Freediving is my passion. It helps me to reconnect with the ocean. It reminds me why we work so hard to save the reef. It pushes me to calm down, to control my breath, to work on my mindset. It is like a meditative state that helps me to stay focused and to be fully committed at work.

OM: What challenges do you now face?

TB: Our main challenge is to scale up. We already have a really strong community, but we want every single person on earth to know what a coral is. We want them to know how important the reefs are and to want to get involved.

OM: Do you think the majority of humans have become disconnected from nature?

TB: I think that because of our society being mainly oriented towards consumption and materialism we indeed became disconnected from nature. We lost sight of the fact that simple things are enough and that the Earth can live without us but we cannot live without it. We need to realise that we are coexisting with nature and that we cannot always take from it without giving back. I am lucky that I grew up on Mo’orea, so I have always been connected to nature, it is part of our culture. I cannot imagine living on a planet with no reefs and viable oceans. Nevertheless, I have hope. We see more and more people and organisations raising awareness about the situation. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to stay home and to realise how much they miss a simple walk outside. During this difficult time, we have to grab the opportunity to realise the impact we have on nature and to rethink our lifestyles.

OM: Why do you think people are able to ignore the plight of the oceans?

TB: Two things. First, they do not feel fully connected to the oceans, they don’t even know how oceans are vital for all of us. Second, they do not really know how to help at their scale. To start with, people need to understand that every second breath we take comes from the oceans. They need to realise that without the oceans we cannot survive. That’s why with Coral Gardeners we are using social media to raise awareness about the ocean: we are showing its beauty and its importance. Then, even if people would like to help, they don’t really know how and to “just” give money to an association is often too abstract. So, with Coral Gardeners we created the adoption program. People from all around the world can adopt a coral to support us. It is something concrete: you add a coral to the reef.

OM:  What are your hopes for the future of the Mo’orea reef?

TB: Our hope is to be able to save the Mo’orea reef but also to use this location as a pilot test to develop our project in other countries. To do so, we are constantly improving our restoration techniques. We just changed our technique to cementing and super corals. Cementing is one of the most efficient and least invasive techniques to date. The technique consists in finding an appropriate substrate where fragments can hold themselves correctly. The substrate needs to be cleaned of all algae or sediment, before the fragment is placed and fixed with about three small dots of underwater cement. A ‘rescue’ cementing is performed the next day to check that the cement has hardened properly, and all fragments are secured. The technique provides a hard surface for the fragments to colonise right away, before merging with the substrate, hence facilitating their growth.

Regarding super corals, to help the reef fight climate change we choose to focus on species displaying stronger genetic abilities to resist high temperatures. Super coral selection is usually performed during an intense bleaching event, during which resistant corals tend to be the only unaffected colonies. 10% of the super colonies are sampled and put into our nurseries for 12-18months, until they reach a decent size. Once big enough, the nursery colonies are trimmed, and the fragments are outplanted back onto the reef while the main part of the colony remains in the nursery to grow the next generation of fragments.