Portable Coral Restoration System Tested in the Maldives

A portable reef aquaculture system designed by scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to aid coral reef restoration in remote locations has been successfully tested in the Maldives by a team of local technicians and biologists.

The Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI) employees were trained by researchers from AIMS to assemble and run the self-sufficient system – known as ReefSeed - at Maniyafushi island in the South Malé Atoll, home of the MMRI.

Following coral spawning in April, the MMRI team used the system independently to rear more than three million larvae from four species of coral, and deploy more than 10,000 juvenile corals on 720 seeding devices at nine reef locations.

AIMS coral reproduction and aquaculture scientist and ReefSeed co-lead, Dr Muhammad Azmi Abdul Wahab said the successful use of the system by MMRI staff was hugely encouraging.

“With training of local experts and technicians, it shows that ReefSeed is a system that could help with coral restoration efforts in remote areas,” he said.

Coral reefs in the Maldives sustain communities and livelihoods but, like coral reefs globally, they have been impacted by bleaching driven by climate change. Innovations like ReefSeed can play a role in supporting restoration efforts providing hope for these communities.

The ReefSeed project is a collaboration between AIMS, MMRI and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO. It was awarded $1.5m (AUD$2.3m) over three years by the G20 Coral Research and Development Accelerator Program (CORDAP), the only international organisation fully dedicated to funding global research and development for tropical and cold water coral restoration and conservation.