Ocean Life - Coral reef gardening: restoring damaged underwater nurseries

As reefs decline worldwide, scientists and conservationists are turning to coral restoration techniques inspired by plant cultivation. Known as coral gardening, the process begins by collecting fragments of mature corals or wild larvae. These pieces are carefully nurtured in land-based or marine nurseries where vulnerable young corals remain protected while growing. Once the colonies reach sufficient size, divers outplant them onto damaged reef structures. In the Caribbean alone, collaborative efforts with NOAA successfully restored more than forty thousand coral reefs by 2021.

Source: Wikipedia