22 Jan 2018

New technique could turn the tide for dying corals

From , 6:01 am on 22 January 2018

The developers of a new restoration method for corals are hoping it will help reverse the alarming rate at which coral reefs around the world are dying.

The founder of an international non-profit coral reef conservation organisation called SECORE, Dirk Petersen says in 2016 thirty percent of all corals on the Great Barrier Reef died, a process scientists call coral bleaching.

Dr Petersen says last year 19 percent of the remaining coral on the barrier reef also perished.

He says existing technology for restoring corals is slow and very labour-intensive but told Koroi Hawkins his team have developed a new method which could pave the way for large-scale coral reef restoration.

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Photo: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies