KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA - The coral bleaching which had forced the closure of some diving sites could be a blessing in disguise.

It could even be a launch pad for research into minimising the effects of global warming, ecosystem management and bio-medical field.

Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry's National Oceanography Directorate undersecretary Prof Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar said the ministry had collaborated with local universities to carry out research on coral transplanting methods.

She said Universiti Malaysia Terengganu here had been successful in coral transplanting research and had the expertise to breed microbes that kept the corals alive.

"The most common method is to graft a section from a healthy coral to the bleached coral. With proper care, the graft will multiply and colonise the bleached coral, making it healthy again."

She was speaking at the launching of the Prime Marine Scientific Research and the National Oceanography Data Centre by Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Fadillah Yusof at Permai Inn yesterday.

"Another method, which has shown a high success rate, is using current to induce calcium carbonate formation on the seabed. We had successfully revived bleached corals in Pulau Mabul in Sabah with this method," she said, adding that the coral microbes would attach themselves to the artificial calcium substrate and grow into healthy, new coral.

She said the coral bleaching study would point scientists to hardy corals that survived and the hardy species would become suitable candidates for transplanting.

"We will also gain insight into the medical properties of the hardy corals."

She said the research could lead to the discovery of how corals adapted to global warming.

"Since global warming has led to climatic and environmental changes, we could battle its effects if we learn how corals faced the changes and survived."

In his speech, Fadillah said marine research was important because marine and coastal resources were under threat from human activities.

"It has been reported that 70 per cent of the coral reef bed near Pulau Tenggol and Pulau Redang has been affected in various degrees by coastal development and fishing-related activities."

He said the activities also contributed to coral bleaching.