Coral reefs provide significant ecological and economic services of benefit to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. The development of new strategies for coral reef management and sustainable utilization is imperative for the survival of these vulnerable ecosystems. The increased frequency and severity of coral bleaching events has been linked to climate change, which has resulted in an approximate 40-60% loss/degradation of coral reefs worldwide since mid last century. In response to the dramatic declines in coral reef health at a global scale and a poleward biogeographical shift in coral reef species as a result of climate change, scientists increasingly voice the need to preserve and enhance reefs. However, the biggest challenge to these efforts to date remains the identification of economically viable approaches to implement and scale-up restoration efforts to achieve a zero net loss or, ideally, a net gain in coral reef area and health.

Coral reef restoration costs are amongst the highest of all other types of marine and coastal habitat restoration efforts. The intensity of labour involved in coral restoration contributes to the high costs and limits the scale at which these types of projects are conducted, with a current median size of 100 square meters. Additionally, when production is increased, many of these projects lack proportionate savings in costs. Our Maritechture™ technologies aim to make coral restoration efforts more scalable and affordable.