giving coral reefs a future

Zoos and public aquariums played an indispensable part in making SECORE what it is today. “They know how to keep corals alive, a skill that is essential if you want to grow corals for reef restoration”, says Dirk Petersen, SECORE's Executive Director and founder. Apart from the culturing aspect and field work, our aquarium partners support logistics, technical advice and development. Zoos and aquariums have millions of people visit them each year, bringing in a huge audience to spread the word on behalf of coral reefs and the work we do.

Mike Brittsan, former Director of Aquatic Sciences at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium―and SECORE's Directors Board Chair―took a lead role to involve zoos and aquariums of the United States in SECORE in the last 15 years: "When Dirk told me about the idea of SECORE for the first time, I knew that this would become of major importance for coral reef conservation and that many zoos and aquariums should take part in this effort."

At Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Mitch Carl, the Curator of Aquatics, was one of the first to join SECORE and participated in the very first SECORE field workshop in Puerto Rico in 2006. “We were there for coral spawning, but nobody had done it before, so we didn’t know if we were doing the right thing”, he reflects. “We were working with static bins, stirring larvae at 3 am and trying to find out a better way how to do it. We tried the first collecting net prototypes, using woman slips, the first incarnation of the collection nets we use now. All in all, there were a lot of challenges. It's incredible how SECORE evolved over the years, and it’s great to still be a part of it, doing amazing conservation work.”

photo: SECORE exhibit at Steinhart Aquarium, California Academy of Sciences, Ryder Diaz