When he was a youngster Israel, Benjamin Kahn loved snorkeling in the Red Sea. The reefs were an underwater wonderland where coral teemed with sea horses and multicolored fish. As an adult, Kahn studied marine biology. He left Israel for the United States and Australia.
In 2000, he returned to Israel. What he saw when he went diving horrified him. The once-blue water was murky. Most of the vibrantly colored fish were gone. All but the hardiest of 30 coral species had died off. The reef had withered into a sandy, underwater boneyard. "I knew that if the reef was going to survive, someone had to fight for it," says Kahn.
He had the resources to go to battle. Kahn's family owns seven aquarium parks, including one in Eilat, Israel. Kahn called on the parks' scientists to come up with new ways of regrowing coral. Now, after every storm, he and his divers collect coral fragments and give them to 5,000 schoolkids. For months, the students grow the coral like saltwater saplings in classroom tubs. Then, divers carefully glue the living coral back onto the reef.
Growing the reef was only part of the fight. Giant fish farms built in 1997 were spewing tons of pollution and killing the reefs. Acting through Zalul, an Israeli clean-water group, Kahn fought the fish-farm owners in court and won. Last year, one-third of the farms' cages were dismantled. The remaining cages must be gone by mid-2008.
"When all the cages are gone, maybe the reef can revive itself," says Kahn. "It's our only chance to regain its amazing vibrancy." Meanwhile, he can be found under the sea, tending his reef like a deep-sea gardener.