Scientists grow baby coral on Barrier Reef
NOVEMBER 26 2017 - 11:25AM
Laura Polson

Scientists have stepped in as environmental matchmakers by breeding baby coral on the Great Barrier Reef in a move that could have worldwide significance.

Coral eggs and sperm were collected from Heron Island's reef during last November's coral spawning to produce more than a million larvae.

The larvae were returned to the wild and placed onto reef patches in underwater mesh tents, with 100 surviving and growing successfully.

Lead project researcher and Southern Cross University professor Peter Harrison, who discovered mass coral spawning in the 1980s, says the "results are very promising".

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