OUR CORAL RESTORATION PROCESS
Our reef restoration techniques are cost effective and scalable. These processes are the result of almost two decades of research and development, and are still evolving in response to the latest science.
Nurseries
We raise all our corals “in situ”, or out in the ocean, where they are constantly adapting to the natural environment. Our iconic Coral Trees™, developed at CRF, are now used by groups around the world.
Outplanting
When our corals are “reef ready”, we rehome them on carefully selected reef sites in the wild. We have developed specific techniques for “outplanting” the different species we work with in abundance.
Monitoring
We meticulously track the impact of our restoration work using cutting-edge photomosaic technology. These high resolution images allow us to monitor changes in coral coverage over time.
THE HOME OF THE ICONIC CORAL TREES
After years of R&D at CRF in Florida, we invented the Coral Tree™. This simple, cost-effective technology forms the heart of our coral nursery operations and has been adopted by restoration groups around the world.
We now use three types of Coral Trees in our nurseries: the original Coral Tree™ the Spiral Tree, and the Mega Tree. In Florida, we manage the largest in-situ coral nurseries in the world.
Outplanting
When the corals in our nurseries are “reef ready”, they are harvested from our Coral Trees™ and moved to a carefully selected spot on a restoration site.
We are continuously working to improve efficiencies in our outplanting methods to help us scale up year after year. All our restoration sites receive multiple species and genotypes.
ACROPORID OUTPLANTING
On healthy reef systems, staghorn and elkhorn corals – the Acroporids – grow to cover the substrate in huge expansive fields of close to 100% coverage.
To restore these natural thicket structures, we rehome Acroporid corals on the reef in cohorts of 50 to 70 fragments of the same genotype, covering the reef with dozens of genetically distinct cohorts.
Each little coral is attached to the reef individually with a non-toxic, two part, marine epoxy.
BOULDER CORAL OUTPLANTING
We’re currently focused on directly outplanting coral plugs straight onto the reef, a technique that allows us to restore coral species like star and brain corals more efficiently. This approach has proven effective in establishing healthy, resilient colonies.
In addition, we’re exploring the trial of small structures designed for specific coral species, but these trials are pending approval from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Outplanting at scale
With more than 16 years of experience we have the capacity to do this work at an ever-increasing scale, as evidenced by our annual outplanting numbers in Florida.
Monitoring
We monitor the progress of our restoration work using photomosaics. These are huge, composite images of reef sites created by stitching together thousands of smaller pictures. These high-resolution orthomosaics allow us to measure changes in coral coverage over time with an incredible degree of accuracy.
Want to see our entire restoration process?
Coral Spawning
Every year across Florida and the Caribbean, around the late-summer full moon, Acroporid corals simultaneously release gametes – bundles of eggs and sperm – into the water. This is a process of sexual reproduction called “spawning” and it is vital for ensuring the genetic diversity of wild coral populations.
More than 15 years ago, in a historic first, corals CRF returned to the “Wellwood Site” on Molasses Reef became the world’s first outplanted corals documented to spawn. Since then, we have recorded spawning at multiple restoration sites — strong evidence that our methods are working; spawning is an energy intensive activity and seeing this sexual reproduction indicates that our corals are happy and healthy.
Corals raised from gametes collected at our facilities are living with organizations around the world, helping a whole
community of researchers better understand coral sexual reproduction to improve monitoring, to enhance the impact of spawning events, and to create new coral genotypes. Coral sperm and eggs from our nurseries have also been cryopreserved, securing a future for unique genetic strains of these disappearing animals.
Upscaling restoration means ensuring that spawning corals can seed the reefs with new genetic strains and avoid local extinctions of these critically endangered species.
PROCESSES IN PRACTICE
These methods are being adapted to suit unique local conditions to help scale up restoration efforts around the world.
See where we work