Stay or spray? Evaluating larval delivery strategies in a multi-partner coral reef restoration project across Gunggandji and Yirrganydji Sea Country

Coral reef ecosystems are declining globally, accelerating development and uptake of coral reef restoration methodologies. Supplying coral larvae directly to natural substrata can re-establish corals on degraded coral reefs and is one of the reef restoration methods being applied through the Reef Co-operative, a new collaboration between Traditional Owners, scientists, tourism operators and a conservation group. Working together, we captured coral spawn at Moore Reef on Gunggandji Sea Country, raised the larvae until competent, then transferred 6 million to recruitment-limited Hastings Reef on Yirrganydji Sea Country for settlement. We investigated the effect of different larval delivery methods on settlement, including under two sizes of larval containment net and spraying larvae directly onto the reef with no containment. Settlement was highest when larvae were delivered under the smallest nets placed over the least irregular natural substratum. The manageable size of these nets was a positive attribute for our diverse team with varying prior experience in field work like this, but they were also the most resource intensive to produce and deploy. Our results illustrate the trade-offs between high larval settlement rates, cost-effectiveness and manageability of larval delivery methods, particularly for multi-partner projects with social as well as environmental objectives

Reef Cooperative Coming Together as One

The Reef Cooperative is a group of colleagues with a shared vision coming together to look after Sea Country and to better understand the reef through the combination of traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary science. The mutual partners of the Reef Cooperative are First Nations Corporations, Reef Tourism Operators, Conservationists, Universities, and Corporate Enterprises. Our philosophy is recognition first, inform early, seek consent, inclusion and follow Traditional Owners protocols. The objective is to present a 21 century conservation model, which has created two fulltime positions. All projects are co-designed and co-managed with Traditional Owners. The Reef Cooperative currently operates on both Yirrganydji and Gunggandji Sea Country off the coast of Cairns and Yarrabah. Our achievements to date includes are the fabrication and installation of Mars Reef Stars and Coral Larval Reseeding. These projects involved both Yirrganydji and Gunggandji rangers, consultations, community days, cultural awareness, and approvals from Traditional Owners. These are the building blocks of our partnership. The key objective to this partnership is to have Traditional Owners involved at all levels of management and making sure cultural knowledge is recognised and safeguarded. This presentation will cover how the partnership works and the barriers we’ve overcome