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Adopt a Buoy

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About the Buoys

About Kosrae

Island Accomodations

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Adopt-a-Buoy

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Coral

Mooring Buoys

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Original Mooring Buoy Closeup


























THE KOSRAE REEF PROTECTION PROJECT
ADOPT-A-BUOY PROGRAM

The Kosrae Reef Protection Project is a joint effort of private participants, a government agency of the island state of Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia) and Oceanearth to install and maintain a mooring buoy system and to assess and monitor the health and status of the island's fringing reef. As of 2016 almost 70 Halas-type buoys have been placed and are currently employed by fishermen and dive operators to avoid the necessity of anchoring directly on reef structures. The buoys also provide permanent locations at which an ongoing program of reef biological monitoring can be performed.

The most significant expense of the mooring buoy project is the maintenance and replacement of the mooring buoys. Every year, buoys are lost due to storms or general wear and tear. Depending upon their severity, seasonal storms can result in damage ranging from the parting of downlines to the complete loss of the anchorage and the associated buoy equipment. Outside of our monitoring session we depend on users to identify and report buoys which may be at risk but not all buoys can be identified in time to prevent their loss.

Each year during the coral monitoring session a significant amount of time and effort is dedicated to the inspection, repair, and replacement of the buoys. Tasks can involve weaving lines, drilling and installing new buoy pins, or swapping out downlines, pickup lines, and buoys. All on-site work requires the use of mulitple divers with surface support personnel and one or more boats.



MAKING A DONATION

You can assist in maintaining the buoy system by donating all or part of the maintenance costs of an individual or group of buoys.

Any amount of donation is helpful and all donations will be devoted to the acquisition of replacement parts and/or the direct expense of installation and maintenance of the system. From time to time, fishermen request new sites for buoys, so some portion of donations may be used to expand the buoy population.



HOW TO ADOPT

For those indivduals looking for a very special opportunity to support the program, we offer the opportunity to "adopt" one of our buoys in exchange for your tax-deductible gift of $225.00 (see notes below)

Your gift will be used for the acqusition and installation of a new buoy, downline, associated hardware, and other materials as needed. If your buoy is to be placed at a newly identified site or if it will replace a completely lost buoy anchorage, your donation will cover the cost of drilling and cementing materials as well. Labor to install buoys is always donated by our local and international volunteers.



NAME YOUR BUOY !

Your buoy can be personalized with your name, your organization's name, or a phrase of your choice. If you have a specific location preference, we will do our best to accomodate it.



GIFT YOURSELF OR SOMEONE SPECIAL!

Donors will receive an adoption certificate including a photo of their buoy along with its GPS and numerical location coordinates. We will also note your selected personalization and the date of installation on our website and on future mooring buoy maps. With your permission, we will include your first name and last initial. We may also post a photo of your buoy on our website. U.S. donors will receive an acknowledgement letter suitable as documentation for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
(Please see important notes below)



INTERESTED ?

If you are interested in supporting the Reef Protection Project through adoption of one or more buoys, please contact us directly at the following email address and we will provide the information on how to proceed.

Contact us using a normal email format at address :

"adopt" at oceanearth dot org.





PLEASE READ THESE IMPORTANT NOTES

Oceanearth, Inc. is currently recognized by the U. S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501c(3) charitable organization. As a result, some portion or possibly all of your donation may be tax deductible. Because individual tax circumstances vary, Oceanearth, Inc. can make no representation as to the deductibility of donations in any specific instance. Donors are advised to consult current U.S. Internal Revenue Service regulations as well as their personal tax advisors prior to making any donation if deductibility is important to you.

Donors can personalize their buoy by adding a name, an organizations's name, or a phrase to their adopted buoy. Any inscription must be less than approximately 18 letters in length (maximum number depends upon the actual letters used). A second line may in some cases be possible, but is not recommended. A logo may be applied if supplied as an applique by the donor. Oceanearth, Inc. reserves the right to reject any inscription that, in its sole determination, is deemed to be offensive or inappropriate in any way. All inscriptions must be approved prior to the acceptance of a donation.

Donors do not own or control the buoys that they adopt. Each buoy will be left in place for a minimum of one year, or until the buoy is lost due to normal wear and exposure, whichever comes later. In general buoys remain in place substantially longer than one year. Buoy lifetime typically depends on location and natural environmental protection. Should a buoy be lost within the first year of its life, a replacement will be made with the original inscription and the donor will be notified of the replacement. If a buoy must be moved due to conditions beyond our control (due to loss of suitable anchorage or any other reason) the donor will be notified of the new location and will receive an update of its coordinate information.

Your buoy will be placed at a location of our choice, prioritized by the needs of the local users. Your request for the installation of a buoy at a specific location will be honored to the best of our ability. Some locations may be unavailable due to prior adoptions. Weather conditions may at some times make installations unsafe or inadvisable in a specific location in which case the deployment of your buoy at a that location could be delayed.

Please contact Oceanearth, Inc. if you have any questions about the Adopt-a-Buoy Program.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT !



And Our Thanks To

All of Those Who Have Recently Donated
Your Buoys are Either on Station or Under Construction


Special Thanks To
Mercedes-Benz Co.
For Your Recent Matching Donation
and to
Gale
For Making It Possible


And To


Judy Halas
Environmental Moorings International
Key Largo, Florida
For Buoys Products and Installation Support




SOME RECENT PLACEMENTS !



Gale with Northern California Explorers Club Buoy


Nothern California Explorers Club Buoy Installed


Dave with Boyds Buoy


Thu's Buoy


Deploying "To Thu" Buoy at site Number 22


Anna's Buoy


RECENT ADOPTIONS !



OceanEarth's Buoy


Team Ehrhart Buoy


PADI Project Aware Buoy


Debra Allan's Buoy


Australian Embassy Buoy


Lesley Ewing's Buoy


The Wolfe Buoy




AND MORE TO COME !









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