From Mauritius into the Indian Ocean | The Base for Our Coral Seeding Initiative

A year and a half ago, we laid the groundwork for our Coral Seeding Initiative for the Indian Ocean in Mauritius—today, we have established a solid foundation to take the next step: teaching other implementing organizations in the region about Coral Seeding and the use of cultured corals for sustainable restoration. This September and October, our team will hold two online seminars as well as a 10-day in-person, hands-on full-scale training during coral spawning season.

It took a lot of work to establish our team in Mauritius! The first step was to find partners and build a supportive network. Thanks to our host, Odysseo Aquarium and the Odysseo Foundation, we had the perfect location to set up our lab and offices. Eco-Sud, a local partner NGO, the University of Mauritius, and the Attitude Foundation with its Marine Discovery Center are further key partners on-site. Thanks to this growing network, we were also able to set up an observation group during the last spawning season to document the spawning of various coral species along several sites—because knowing when each species spawns is essential if you want to breed baby corals from the start. 

“The project began right at the start of Acropora spawning season which meant we had to collect the first spawn while simultaneously setting up the entire project infrastructure. We had to learn quickly, experiment, and adapt to the local context as we went along.” said Dr. Gaëlle Quéré, Research Scientist and & Team Lead Mauritius

And they can be proud of their first successes: the first bred corals are already growing on the reef—our special mascots is Kora, the first ever bred staghorn coral of Mauritius.

Get to know our team, learn about their daily work, and discover the dedication with which they tailor our coral breeding methods to the local conditions and work together with our partners!