KNN Community Desk | November 3, 2026 — A coral restoration effort off Puerto Rico’s eastern coast is expanding with a $5 million investment from NOAA Fisheries. In an agency report published November 2, project partner Sea Ventures outlined work that combines underwater restoration, scientific monitoring and training for people in nearby coastal communities.
A larger restoration plan at Cayo Largo
NOAA says the project is targeting approximately 30,000 square meters of reef habitat near Cayo Largo. By 2028, the partners aim to outplant 30,000 individual elkhorn corals across 60 restoration plots. These are project goals, not completed totals.
The work builds on an existing relationship at the reef dating to 2018. Teams attach coral fragments to the substrate, then document their growth. According to NOAA, divers can place hundreds of fragments during a productive day; repeated photographic surveys make it possible to construct detailed models that reveal changes across the reef.
Conservation is also a community project
NOAA reports that residents from a nearby fishing community are training as restoration technicians, including scuba certification. Outreach programs use 360-degree underwater video and virtual-reality goggles so students and community members can learn about marine habitat that they may never visit in person.
Elkhorn coral builds structure that helps support fish and other sea life. The agency also describes efforts to preserve coral genetic material and maintain diverse stock for future restoration. Scientists have observed promising growth at some sites, but survival is not universal, and future marine heat waves and bleaching remain serious risks.
Primary source: NOAA Fisheries report, November 2, 2026. The published report includes photographs of the actual Cayo Largo restoration team and reef, and explains the ongoing research limitations.
