Coral Propagation and Restoration Project in Jeddah

The Coral Reefs and Turtles Organization is implementing a project to establish coral nurseries in Jeddah. The first phase began at La Mer Beach, in collaboration with 17sixty Diving Center and with support from the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation.

The program began in mid-2024. The nursery currently contains 380 coral colonies distributed across different depths and representing 13 genera. The most abundant is Pocillopora, with 245 colonies accounting for 64.5% of the total, followed by Acropora with 62 colonies and Porites with 35, alongside other genera.

The nurseries follow a scientific process that begins with rescuing threatened coral fragments or collecting them from nearby damaged areas. These fragments are then secured to nursery tables, suspended structures, and rope units, providing a suitable environment for growth away from sediment and pollutants.

Care and maintenance activities include removing algae, reattaching coral fragments, and controlling predators, including crown-of-thorns starfish and Drupella snails, alongside monthly monitoring and training visits. The colonies also undergo weekly checks to assess survival rates, health, diseases, and predators, while growth is measured every three months.

Each colony is assigned a unique identifier that enables its parent colony to be traced, its growth history to be documented, and its final outplanting location to be recorded.

The project also includes larval propagation using three-dimensional technology to provide safe surfaces that help wild coral larvae settle and grow.

Project results show that 298 colonies, representing 78.4% of the total, are in excellent health with fully living tissue. A total of 231 colonies measure more than 10 centimeters.

The project supports the growth of rescued coral colonies, increases the coral stock available for restoration, and expands nursery capacity and productivity. It also supports the development of standard procedures for caring for corals and nursery structures, collecting data, and tracking colonies.

The project’s impact extends to capacity building and community participation through training local divers to care for and monitor the nurseries and involving the diving community in field restoration activities. This strengthens their participation in scientific and field efforts to conserve coral reefs and marine ecosystems in the Red Sea.

The next phase of the project spans 12 months and is divided into seven stages. It includes expanding the nursery, strengthening care and monitoring activities, outplanting healthy coral colonies in their natural habitats, and completing the necessary environmental assessments to support coral reef restoration and the sustainability of marine ecosystems in the Red Sea.

The project provides an integrated platform for coral propagation, care, and restoration, combining scientific methods with community participation. Damaged coral colonies are rescued, cared for, and grown in nurseries in preparation for outplanting in their natural habitats.