Coral Reef Restoration Team Curacao

08/09/2026

Monday August 31st we did a Coralspawning dive in our outplant. There was a lot of activity going in the outplant. But the Bristle worms were also spawning. They went crazy in our dive lights.

30/08/2026

Augusts 30th 2026:
They say many hands make light work, and today was the perfect example! After a busy cleaning day, all the coral trees in our nursery are looking absolutely s***k and span. We are fully prepared and right on time for the upcoming coral spawning. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the magic happens this week. We will keep you posted on the updates!

09/08/2026

August 9th 2026: As promised, here is an update on the "Message in a Bottle" experiment. Next to our original bottle with its piece of coral, we have placed an identical bottle containing the same genotype of coral. This time, we attached the coral using a piece of cork. We chose cork because it is a natural material that fits our green recycling project. Stay tuned for more updates!

26/07/2026

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE... We send an SOS to the (future) world.
CRRTC is working on a new experiment: we have carefully placed a tiny piece of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) inside a small glass bottle, at three different locations in our coral nursery.

Why we experiment with glass bottles (which cant be seen as pollution of the sea):
* Natural basis: Glass is made from melted sand (silica). It does not react with salt water and is completely toxin-free.
* Upcycling of waste: In areas without good glass recycling, empty bottles get a useful second life underwater in this way, as coral fragments are placed in the bottle necks or between the bottles, where they can attach to the hard surface.

Our very own Message in a Bottle, but one that lives, grows, and breathes!
Will the coral find its way out and conquer the bottle?
Or will this become an iconic anchor point in our nursery?
Stay tuned to follow the progress of this brand-new experiment.

31/05/2026

May 31st 2026: THE POWER OF NATURE! 🪸
Two weeks ago, we fragmented coral.
Cutting the ends always leaves a fragile spot behind.
But look at it now! Within just 14 days, the wound is already fully closed and healed. It is already growing vigorously again!

26/05/2026

26-05-2026 Dear Bo van Ree
There is a well-known saying that goes: ‘You have moved a stone in a river on earth, now the current will never be the same again.’ That is exactly what you have done here on Curaçao, but in our beautiful Caribbean Ocean.

Your hard work and dedication have left a lasting impact on the coral reef. While you board the plane back to the Netherlands tomorrow, the corals you cared for here on the Caracasbaai, will continue to grow, but they, the reef , and especially we, the volunteers from CRRTC are going to terrible miss you!

Thank you for everything. Best of luck with your school and everything that your future will bring. Remember that the Curaçao sun and sea are always waiting for you.
Have a good trip tomorrow and Ayo!

26/05/2026

Last Saturday we closed the circle of a project we started with Elkhorn coral.
In October 2025 Imme Molenaar collected broken pieces of Elkhorn which we put in Coral trees to grow. Now in May 2026 van Ree finished the Circle to do the outplant. On tables but also back on an Elkhorn substrate that remained after the enormous bleeching of 2024. Now the Elkhorn has to grow and survive.

video/editing: Hans Pleij
music: Sleeves

Miranda van Malsen Jan Knaap

17/05/2026

Yesterday was CURA DOET at Divecenter CURious2DIVE. Two foundations Curaçao Clean Up & Coral Reef Restoration Team Curacao joined forces and out planted 1224 full grown Stag-horn corals. In the afternoon the team went back and fragmentized 1200 new baby corals and filled up the trees. Thanks to all the volunteers who participated in this great event.

Video: Marijke Pelders
Editing: Hans Pleij
Music: Sleeves

17/05/2026

Recently we put information on this page about the works in the run-up to Saturday 16.05.2026. Our big outplant and fragmentation 2026 project. Yesterday was THE DAY and what was it a BEAUTIFUL one!
In collaboration with CURA DOET 2026 and Curaçao Clean Up, and Divecenter CURious2DIVE, the Coral Reef Restoration Team Curacao have set another milestone.
We've outplanted more than 1200 corals and fragmentise 1152 corals for the season 2026/2027.

While our photographer is very hard at work to assembly all the pictures and video's together, we wanted you to enjoy a little bit the atmosphere of this day, by sharing the report of Curaçao Clean Up as a nice sneak-preview. Keep an eye on this page for more updates.

10/05/2026

This is is on the online news site curacao.nu with the upcoming event fragmentize & outplanting with CuraDoet May 16th. Apply if you want to help.

WILLEMSTAD - Op zaterdag 16 mei planten Curaçaose natuurorganisaties ruim 1.200 volledig gegroeide koralen terug op het rif. De grootschalige herstelactie wordt georganiseerd door Coral Reef Restoration Team Curaçao en Curaçao Clean Up, in samenwerking met CuraDoet.