SANTA MARTA (Colombia), May 7 — Yerson Granados used to fish off Colombia’s Caribbean coast for a living, but when he discovered the havoc he was wreaking on coral reefs, he...
Former fisherman Yerson Granados from the CIM Caribe Foundation poses next to a structure with Acropora cervicornis coral to be planted under the sea in a nursery in Inca Inca Bay, Santa Marta , Magdalena Department, Colombia, on April 19, 2026.
— AFP pic! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. SANTA MARTA , May 7 — Yerson Granados used to fish off Colombia’s Caribbean coast for a living, but when he discovered the havoc he was wreaking on coral reefs, he changed his ways.
The 56-year-old from the city of Santa Marta now earns his keep saving coral, which is vital for marine biodiversity.
“We used to destroy them,” Granados told AFP, his body half-submerged in the sea and diving goggles concealing his face. Forty-four per cent of the world’s coral species face extinction, mainly due to climate change, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated in 2024.
When he discovered the pressing need to preserve coral, Granados swapped his dynamite, nets and anchors for a diving suit, which he uses to plunge to the depths of the sea to attach coral fragments to an artificial reef in a bid to repopulate the area. He was the first fisherman to retrain as an environmental defender under a pioneering project to replenish the Caribbean coral ecosystem.
CIM Caribbean Foundation estimates that it has planted 1.5 hectares worth of 20 different coral species thanks to the team of former fishermen. The NGO is hoping to plant 36 hectares of coral by 2030, which scientific director Diana Tarazona calls reviving “underwater cities. ” “Working with them means gaining insight into what lies beyond the literature, which is that innate knowledge they have” about the sea, she said.
A typical workday for Granados entails diving 10 metres below the surface with an oxygen tank to monitor the precious gardens. Once underwater, they become “houses for the fish,” he said. Kevin Monsalvo, 26, has followed in the footsteps of Granados and said things are different for him since he learned more about the organism threatened with extinction.
Yerson Granados Caribbean Coral CIM Caribbean Foundation Diana Tarazona Marine Biodiversity
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