Reef Trust

Supporting reef restoration efforts worldwide.🌏

Australia continues to collaborate with partner countries, sharing science and innovation to help address the challenges facing our reefs.

ReefSeed is a portable, self-sufficient coral aquaculture system that applies technologies developed under the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP).

It can be transported in sea containers to remote areas and is capable of producing millions of coral larvae to support reef restoration.

In 2025, ReefSeed was successfully trialed in the Maldives. With support from Australian Institute of Marine Science researchers, biologists from the Maldives Marine Research Institute fertilised and reared coral egg and s***m bundles into larvae within ReefSeed units. These larvae were then successfully settled and transferred onto reefs using specially designed ceramic devices.

This collaboration highlights the importance of partnerships supporting global reef restoration.

RRAP is funded through the partnership between the Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

📷 Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Naaish | AIMS, Crystle Wee

Learn more about one of the great projects we’re funding through the Reefwise Wetlands Program 👇

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗳!

Reef Catchments has been awarded $9.6 million through the Australian Government’s Reefwise Wetlands Program to deliver the Lagoon Creek Wetland Remediation Project in the Proserpine sub-catchment.

Working with Alluvium Consulting and local sugarcane landholders, we will deliver a 4.5 km treatment train of coordinated restoration works, including:
✔ 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨𝐟𝐟
✔ 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐬
✔ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝟏.𝟓 𝐤𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐤
✔ 𝐖𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰
✔ 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟔𝟎 𝐡𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬

These works will help reduce the pollutant loads reaching the Goorganga Plain and Repulse Bay, and support habitat for Critically Endangered migratory birds including the Eastern Curlew and Curlew Sandpiper.

Learn more: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Z3gb0

This project received grant funding from the Reefwise Wetlands Grant Program - which is funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.
Reef Trust & Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Seas the moment – it’s ! 🌊💙💚🩵

Did you know?

• More than half of Australia’s area is ocean.
• More than half of that is protected in marine parks.
• Together, Australia's marine parks cover an area more than 15 times the size of Italy. 🤯

This year's theme is strong marine protected areas for our blue planet.

Marine protected areas are a tool to help keep our ocean healthy. They:

• protect habitats and species (including those important for fisheries)
• conserve cultural and heritage values
• boost local economies
• support recreation and sport. 🤿

These precious places are managed by the Australian, state and territory governments. And their impact is growing:

• Nearly 25% of our ocean is already highly protected. We’re working towards increasing this to 30% by 2030.
• We’re involved in global efforts towards protecting areas on the high seas, under the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty. 🐙
Marine protection = planet protection! 🌏

Discover more in comments.

📸 Ningaloo Marine Park (Credit: & Tony Howard), Freycinet Marine Park (Credit: James Parkinson), Beagle Marine Park (Credit: NESP Marine and Coastal Hub -Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies - IMAS ), Marine Park (Credit: Citizens of the Reef), Lord Howe Island Marine Park (NSW) (Credit: Sabine Rock)

Reefs around the world are being impacted by similar pressures — so how are other countries supporting their reefs to adapt and be more resilient?

In the US, autonomous underwater robots are being used to discover hidden coral reef 'hotspots'.

Known as CUREE (the Curious Underwater Robot for Ecosystem Exploration), these autonomous systems can seek out and map hotspots of biodiversity on coral reefs.

They combine audio and visual data in a single autonomous system to help reveal where marine life concentrates and why.

This data provides researchers and reef managers with a smarter, faster way to understand where life persists and why, so conservationists and resource managers can focus their attention where it's needed most.

This work is a part of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Reef Solutions Initiative.

Source: The Coral Reef Research Hub
📸 Artist impression | Image credit: Nicole McLachlan for Citizens of the GBR