In June this year, an exciting milestone was reached in our coral restoration work in Batanta, Raja Ampat. After 14 months of growth in rope nurseries, the first batch of corals reached a sufficient size to be out-planted back onto the reef. From the original 2,299 coral fragments stocked in 2024, 1,674 had grown into healthy colonies – marking a 72.8 % success rate.
This achievement builds on work that began in April 2024, when Coralive partnered with Pulau Dayan Homestay and its owner, Konstantinus Saleo, to launch a restoration initiative on his home island. Konstantinus joined forces with our team to establish a coral nursery as the foundation for regenerating the degraded reefs surrounding his Homestay.
Now, after 14 months, in June 2025, our team carefully harvested the nursery-grown colonies and secured them to the surrounding degraded reef using cement, following thorough substrate cleaning and stability checks to ensure long-term attachment success and maximize survival. A subset of colonies was tagged for ongoing monitoring, allowing us to track health, growth, and survival over time which will provide key insights for the future management of the project.
Meanwhile, the rope nurseries were restocked with 1,870 new coral fragments, selected based on desirable physiological traits and their proximity to nursery site. This ensures a continuous cycle of growth and outplanting, steadily regenerating the reef ecosystem over the coming years.
The June outplanting is more than just a technical success but represents an important step towards regenerating the coral reefs in Batanta, one of many steps to help combat coastal erosion in this region which is threatening the livelihoods of many people. Together with Konstantinus and our partners, we are proud to take this step toward a healthier future for Batanta’s reefs.
