coral Reef restoration
Through research, education and collaboration with scientists around the globe we are hopeful to establish coral nurseries to support reef restoration projects in Hawaii. There are many proven methodologies for successfully propagating corals and repopulating reefs. We aim to collaborate with the top scientists in this field to integrate these methodologies to work with our species of corals. We will collaborate with our government agencies to ensure proper protocols are combined with the most efficient methods to create successful reef restoration projects across our vast island chain.
There are many individuals in our state, both in the public and private sectors who are working to create processes for re-planting corals in Hawaii. It is our goal to link these individual entities together to create a team of passionate, skilled capable people that actually implement these processes, restoring health and biodiversity back to our beautiful coral reefs.
Photo Credit: NOAA
In the waters around Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, NOAA works with a number of partners in various capacities to maintain 27 coral nurseries.
NOAA uses coral nurseries to help corals recover after traumatic events, such as a ship grounding. Hung on a tree structure, the staghorn coral shown here will have a better chance of surviving and being transplanted back onto a reef. (NOAA)