Efforts to improve and fast track large-scale coral reef restoration processes on Caribbean reefs are being supported by Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) scientists as part of a new international collaboration.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and marine industry collaborators have deployed the final batch of aquaculture-reared young corals onto the Great Barrier Reef in the first year of a three-year program to test reef restorations methods.
A crucial tool in large scale coral reef restoration can be made cheaply and with non-toxic waste materials which could encourage their uptake in developing countries, a new study has found.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has led one of the world’s largest reef restoration tests on a coral reef ecosystem during the recent mass spawning on the Great Barrier Reef.
First Nations rangers are partnering with scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to take restoration research out of the laboratory and onto the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) throughout November.
One of the greatest challenges of reef restoration on the Great Barrier Reef is its vast size. AIMS and its partners are meeting this challenge by bringing together the latest science, innovative technologies, and people power.
Monitoring of the young corals after deployments is essential to understand the efficacy of the methods, and inform future iterations. Monitoring of sites will be conducted at multiple scales, and be carried out by science teams, industry and participating Traditional Owner groups.
Manual and tech-based monitoring approaches such as ReefScan and photogrammetry will be used across the sites, with some surveys continuing after the three-year program concludes.
Device locations are geotagged and monitored in 6-month and 1-year intervals to measure retention, coral growth and survival. This data will help assess conservation aquaculture and inform coral resilience research.
A key practical part of scaling up reef restoration is to empower local people and industries, by building skills, capacity and partnerships.
One way to do this is by providing training in the advanced skills of reef restoration, with the intention that these skills will become increasingly valuable as reef restoration activities expand in the future.
In 2025, the Pilot Deployments Program established a Panel of Providers to deliver specific services and solutions over a three-year period. This includes coral seeding, monitoring and data collection. The Panel of Providers has Traditional Owner representatives, as well as tourism and commercial reef operators, and members of the coral collection and aquarist industry.
Traditional Owners hold important cultural and spiritual connections to Country, including sea Country on the Great Barrier Reef. These connections power deep knowledge and care for the Reef, and inherent rights and responsibility for its future.
The Pilot Deployments Program works closely with Indigenous communities. Free, prior and informed consent is obtained through Traditional Owner engagement before any Pilot Deployments Program activities.
For example, the AIMS-led Indigenous Futures Project works in partnership with Indigenous Ranger groups and the Pilot Deployments Program. Its goal is to empower Traditional Owners to lead in caring for sea Country through reef restoration techniques. A pilot group of Indigenous Rangers are being trained in advanced skills for reef interventions, enabling them to lead these activities within their ranger groups for the future of sea Country when and where required.
Several technologies have been pioneered and refined for use in Pilot Deployments Program operations. Technological advances will continue based on feedback from early Pilot Deployments Program data. Some examples of technologies which have already emerged include:
The innovative approaches being developed within the RRAP and the Pilot Deployments Program contribute to a toolbox of options for future management needs. It is critical they are developed with this end-use in mind.
Pilot Deployments Program activities align with Reef protection objectives, regulations and permitting processes from the Reef Authority and the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI).
AIMS collaborates with both regulatory bodies to codesign and implement the trials, and continue R&D.
The Pilot Deployments Program is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, and led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It is part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, funded by the partnership between the Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
A portable coral aquaculture system that can be packed away and moved in sea containers to remote areas to help with coral reef restoration is being put through its paces in the Maldives for the coral spawning season.
Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are currently preparing for the annual ‘mass’ spawning of Great Barrier Reef corals – an important time of reproduction and rejuvenation on the Reef.
Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science have developed an advanced remote sensing model that will significantly enhance efforts to manage and restore coral reefs.
