CRF St. Croix
St. Croix, USVI
CRF's Premiere Global Satellite Program – Established 2023
Rewrite…
At Long Reef, St. Croix, we will be establishing nurseries, collecting corals for propagation and banking, coral, and outplanting around 7,000 corals across different species.
Restoration efforts will focus on Long Reef – one of six priority sites listed in the Virgin Islands Coral Reef Restoration Plan.
Rewrite…Global approach… to working in other countires
As of 2024
- We have successfully captured baseline photomosaics of nearly 20,000m² of reef sites. These areas will be our focus for outplanting over the coming years.
- We have now established a Coral Tree Nursery with 22 Coral Trees and five nursery tables for non-Acroporid broodstock
- We are caring for around 2,400 non-Acroporid coral plugs, around 300 broodstock non-Acroporid corals, and around 800 individual elkhorn colonies for a total of around 3,500 total corals
- We are currently working with eight species: Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), Diploria labyrinthiformis (grooved brain coral), Montastraea cavernosa (great star coral), Orbicella annularis (boulder star coral), Orbicella faveolata (mountainous star coral), Orbicella franksi (boulder star coral), Pseudodiploria clivosa (knobby brain coral), and Pseudodiploria strigosa (symmetrical brain coral).
- We have one full-time staff member on the ground, and have trained and are now employing 15 local contractual divers for daily field work
First opened in 2024, our CRF St. Croix in-situ Coral Tree Nursery currently has 40 Coral Trees and 10 nursery tables for non-Acroporid broodstock.
We are caring for around 5,000 non-Acroporid coral plugs, around 500 broodstock non-Acroporid corals, and around 1,000 individual elkhorn colonies for a total of around 6,500 total corals
Corals we work with
working with local coral species….???
In St. Croix, we work with the following corals:
Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), Acropolis cervicornis (staghorn coral), Diploria labyrinthiformis (grooved brain coral), Montastraea cavernosa (great star coral), Orbicella annularis (boulder star coral), Orbicella faveolata (mountainous star coral), Orbicella franksi (boulder star coral), Pseudodiploria clivosa (knobby brain coral), Pseudodiploria strigosa (symmetrical brain coral), and Colpophyllia natans (boulder brain coral).
20
Coral species currently found in our Florida nurseries
600
Genotypes across coral species
1.5
Acres of ocean floor covered by the largest coral nursery in the world
Community Dives
Volunteer Restoration Experiences
CRF™ St. Croix invites local certified divers to take an active role in restoring Long Reef — at no cost to you, other than your time and energy!
Our free Community Dives are two-tank volunteer trips to our coral nursery, where recreational divers help care for corals destined for outplanting. By clearing algae and debris from nursery structures, you’ll give these corals the best chance to thrive—and take part in protecting the reef you know and love.
Participants must be certified divers who have logged a dive within the past year. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is also a certified diver.
2025 Dates:
November 22nd
December 20th (ADD 2nd CTA FOR THIS DATE)
Local Contract Divers
Paid Opportunities for Qualified Divers
Interested in taking your commitment further? CRF™ St. Croix also partners with local contracted divers to support our restoration work on a more regular basis.
Contract divers are paid team members who assist with coral outplanting, nursery maintenance, and other essential in-water tasks. If you’re a certified diver with availability and a passion for ocean conservation, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact Us to Learn More