OUR MISSION
Finding, safeguarding, multiplying and fostering a future for the winning corals
WHO WE ARE
We are a team of marine ecologists and fisher stakeholders from local communities impacted by the global climate and biodiversity crises. Our executive team is formed of specialists in tropical coastal ecosystem restoration with international experience in a handful of diverse Caribbean contexts. Our practice is registered in Jamaica and our core staff have been in operation since 2023 through consultancies and partnerships with various local community and public and private sector organizations.WHAT WE DO
We design, implement and execute grassroots, community-based coral reef restoration projects in all of their field and administrative phases. We develop, hire and train teams of local stakeholders, converting traditional resource users into marine conservation ambassadors. Our skills and services include project design and implementation, permitting and licenses, recruitment and training, field labour, scientific data administration, project comms and social media, research publication and international symposium participation.
We conduct thorough long swim surveys, scanning all available reefscapes and coral communities in their entirety, in search of surviving specimens of high value with which to stock conservation programs or inform national conservation agendas.
Major extinction-level dieback events have become increasingly frequent following consecutive years of record-breaking summer heat. Recent mortality events have reversed the positive impact and resulted in the discontinuation of many programs working to restore coral reefs. We take on the herculean field labour required to bring species back from the brink. In swimming the extra mile to locate survivors, we scout genetic material or provide geospatial information pertaining to surviving colonies to those wanting to start over or partner to develop new programs.THE INTERNATIONAL PICTURE
OUR FOOTPRINT OVER THE YEARS
Our efforts are of regional relevance for reef resilience in Jamaica and beyond.
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CASE STUDY
RESILIENT REEFS OF JAMAICA
Our flagship project, Resilient Reefs Of Jamaica, was born in response to the devastating impact of the 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event of 2023–2024 which resulted in the near local extinction of the Caribbean's emblematic elkhorn and staghorn corals.
QUICK LINKS →
Features & Press
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Jamaica After Melissa - Trailer
At the end of 2025, our work was featured as a whole episode in Jamaican Ukranian doumentary maker Irina Bruce's series on post-Melissa efforts around Jamaica. The full episode will be released in late 2026 but you can catch us in this trailer.
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AGRRA Acropora 2023: Heat-related Mortality Webinar
Webinar hosted by the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment with participation from White River Fish Sanctuary starting at 52:03 minutes. Here, research lead, Felix, describes early bleaching response and survivor mapping efforts.
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Research Lead at White River Fish Sanctuary, Felix Charnley, describes early resilient coral mapping efforts in the first six months after the 2023 bleaching crisis on Smile Jamaica TV.
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Smile Jamaica Interview, Dec 2025
On December 29, 2025, coral scientist, Felix Charnley, discussed Trelawny’s reefs which showed unexpected resilience after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, recording a 100% survival rate in nurseries.
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Smile Jamaica Interview, Nov 2024
In November, we gave a follow up interview on the status of the near extinction crisis of our most critical corals 8 months on from the last interview when we were only 6 months into our response mission.
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Resilient Reefs of Jamaica - A Year in Review. Reef Futures 2024. Presentation: Felix Charnley MSc
This presentation was given at the 2024 Reef Futures conference organised by the Coral Restoration Consortium in Cancun, Mexico at Iberostar Hotels and Resorts on December 12, 2024.
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Trelawny Restoration Project - Status Report
Download our latest government report on the status of our nurseries and outplant sites in Trelawny, Jamaica.
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Post-Hurricane Melissa Status Report of Coral Nurseries
Download this overview of the condition in which our nurseries and all donor corals throughout the entire parish of Trelawny were found following the Category-5 hurricane on October 28th, 2025.
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A Glimmer of Hope for Jamaica’s Coral Reefs Post-Melissa
As Hurricane Melissa’s aftermath operations continue, coral conservationist Felix Charnley, project leader of the Derby Beach Marine Sanctuary’s coral restoration programme, slips into the still murky waters of Silver Sands in Trelawny, twenty-four hours after the eye of the storm passed over this exact spot on Jamaica’s northern coast.
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Corals show promise one year post extinction scare, but seabed looks like ‘a graveyard’.
INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY
Partners & collaborators
Our work has so far been funded, licensed, outsourced or logistically supported in all its stages through partnerships, consultancies, contracts and grants awarded by the following institutions and local organizations.PAST AND ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS, SPONSORSHIPS AND CONTRACUAL & VOLUNTARY PLACEMENTS
PAST AND ONGOING GRANTORS AND REGULATORS
COLLEAGUES AND AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS
We owe infinite gratitude to the following coral conservation pioneers, leaders and innovators who have been instrumental over the years in providing moral and technical support, platforming our work, reviewing our research, flagging funding opportunities and partnering in the field.
Dr. Austin Bowden-Kerby
Founder - Corals4Conservation
“Reefs of Hope” Decade Action
Dr. Andrew Ross
Owner - Seascape Caribbean
Inaugural Steering Committee Member - Coral Restoration Consortium
Dr. Johanna Calle-Trivino
Coordenadora Cientifica - Iberostar Wave of Change
Regional Co-Chair - Coral Restoration Consortium
Dr Harmony Martell
Founder - Ocean Harmony Consulting
Courtesy Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Florida International University Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory
Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez Redondo
Founder - Maguá Ecological Foundation
Science Director - Bávaro Reefs Foundation
Dr Thomas Goreau
Founder - Global Coral Reef Alliance
BECOME A PROTECTOR
Want to join us at sea?
Get in touch
DO YOUR PART
Support the cause
Consistent coral care & maintenance
Helps keep surviving corals healthy through nursery cleaning, inspection, propagation and routine field care.
$10-$50
Nursery expansion and increased coral “planting” acreage
Helps pay for expanding underwater nurseries, maximising coral output and construction labour and materials for creating more coral “planting” units.
$50-$100
Extended mapping and post-disturbance monitoring
Helps cover boat time and fuel to find and rescue new coral lineages to expand the gene bank, and to monitor and stabilize distant wild colonies post-disturbance.
$100–$250
Team expansion and new conservation livelihoods
Helps hire and train new local coral farmers and conservation ambassadors in our impacted communities, and create new job opportunities for young Jamaican scientists.
$250–$500
Gears, capacity building and next level interventions
Goes towards replacement dive gear, GPS units, temperature loggers underwater cameras etc, scuba training for new coral farmers, research costs e.g. DNA sequencing for informed population management, developing new knowledge and new skills e.g. assisted fertilisation, and funding crisis response interventions as needed e.g. emergency evacuation and temporary ex-situ coral maintenance amid marine heatwaves
$500-$1,000+FOLLOW THE WORK
Footage from the field
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