RESEARCH-BASED RESTORATION
There is no single solution to reef recovery.
Coral reefs face many challenges, from algal overgrowth and coral predators to the loss of key herbivores and declining water quality. While coral restoration has made tremendous progress over the past decade, successful reef recovery requires more than growing and planting corals alone.
At REACT, we focus on improving the conditions that allow coral reefs to recover. By combining multiple science-based reef enhancement techniques, we take a holistic approach to supporting healthier reef ecosystems. Every intervention we carry out is monitored and evaluated, allowing us to continuously refine our methods based on scientific evidence.
Coral reefs face many challenges, from algal overgrowth and coral predators to the loss of key herbivores and declining water quality. While coral restoration has made tremendous progress over the past decade, successful reef recovery requires more than growing and planting corals alone.
At REACT, we focus on improving the conditions that allow coral reefs to recover. By combining multiple science-based reef enhancement techniques, we take a holistic approach to supporting healthier reef ecosystems. Every intervention we carry out is monitored and evaluated, allowing us to continuously refine our methods based on scientific evidence.
How REACT Fits Into Reef Restoration
Reef restoration in Cura çao is a collaborative effort.
Several organizations on the island specialize in coral propagation and outplanting. Rather than duplicating these efforts, REACT focuses on improving the environmental conditions that determine whether newly settled and outplanted corals can survive and grow. Our role is to complement existing restoration work by preparing, maintaining, and enhancing reef sites before, during, and after coral restoration activities.
Coral Outplanting
REACT works closely with Reef Renewal Curaçao, who lead coral nursery maintenance and asexual coral propagation on the island. Their team grows and outplants nursery-raised corals to degraded reefs, helping restore coral populations and habitat complexity.
Sexual Coral Propagation
For more than 30 years, CARMABI has monitored the reproductive timing of Curaçao's corals, creating one of the world's longest continuous records of coral spawning. This long-term research allows spawning events to be accurately predicted and forms the foundation for larval restoration efforts on the island.
Building on this knowledge, REACT collaborates with SECORE International to apply pioneering sexual coral propagation techniques, using naturally spawned coral larvae to produce genetically diverse juvenile corals for reef restoration in Curaçao.
Reef Enhancement
REACT focuses on the ecological processes surrounding these corals. By improving reef conditions through targeted interventions, we help create environments where both naturally occurring and restored corals have a greater chance of surviving, growing, and reproducing.
Our Reef Enhancement methods
Healthy reefs depend on many interconnected ecological processes. Rather than relying on a single intervention, our work combines multiple complementary techniques that address different drivers of reef degradation.
Algae Management
Why it matters
When herbivorous fish and sea urchin populations decline, turf algae and macroalgae can rapidly overgrow reefs. Excessive algal growth competes with corals for space, light, and resources, reduces coral recruitment, and can ultimately shift reefs from coral-dominated to algae-dominated ecosystems.
What we do
Manual algae removal
Development of the REACT algae vacuum
Monitoring algal regrowth
Testing best practices for long-term algae management
Current projects
Underwater Algae Vacuum (INNO-Fonds)
Manual Reef Cleaning (BESTLIFE2030)
Grazer Restoration
Why it matters
Healthy reefs depend on herbivorous fish and grazing invertebrates such as the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) to keep algae under control. The dramatic decline of these grazers has contributed to widespread algal overgrowth throughout the Caribbean.
What we do
Developing habitat structures that encourage grazer recruitment
Monitoring grazer populations
Supporting the recovery of natural grazing pressure
Current projects
TripleR Project
Coral Predator Management
Why it matters
Coral predators occur naturally on healthy reefs, but their abundance can increase when food webs become unbalanced. Overfishing can reduce populations of predators such as triggerfish and lobsters that naturally feed on coral-eating organisms, allowing some coral predators to become more common. Where this occurs, they can significantly reduce the survival of both naturally occurring and restored corals.
What we do
Monitoring coral predator abundance
Developing practical removal methods
Evaluating the effectiveness of predator management
Reef Monitoring
Why it matters
Every reef is different, and no single restoration method works everywhere. Monitoring allows us to measure reef health, evaluate whether our interventions are effective, and adapt our methods based on scientific evidence.
What we do
We use photogrammetry to create high-resolution 3D models of our intervention sites. By repeating these surveys over time, we can accurately quantify changes in:
Algal cover and height
Coral cover
Coral growth and survival
Reef structural complexity
These digital reef models allow us to compare sites before and after intervention, measure ecological change over time, and continuously evaluate and improve our restoration methods.
Looking Ahead
Reef enhancement is a rapidly evolving field. As new scientific knowledge becomes available, REACT will continue to develop, test, and refine practical techniques that improve reef health and strengthen restoration efforts across Curaçao.
