39 years ago a professor by the name of Peter Harrison witnessed a mass coral spawning event in the Great Barrier Reef. Southern Cross University’s partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation – among several other partners – are assisting Professor Harrison and his team to perfect an innovative technology called “Coral IVF”. Which is exactly what it sounds like.
In a world-first, these groups have successfully pioneered this technique which is also referred to as larval re-seeding. It is the first project of its kind to re-establish a population of juvenile corals from larvae settling directly on the reef in the hope the coral thrives in the area.
The coral IVF program is one of more than 60 projects being delivered by the Foundation who immediately saw the potential of this game-changing technique and, with its research partners, now aims to accelerate the regrowth of corals and deliver new life to the reef.
What reef should the foundation and it’s partners use Coral IVF on next? Let me know in the comments section.