Join us to complete the most precious collection on Earth

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Great Barrier Reef coral
species preserved forever

THE FOREVER REEF PROJECT WILL PRESERVE CORAL BIODIVERSITY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

It's a groundbreaking initiative to collect living specimens of the world's coral species and preserve them in a living ‘coral ark ’. We can protect coral biodiversity forever, but our window of opportunity is rapidly closing and we can't keep doing this alone.
We need you.

Without question, this is the most important project we can be undertaking for corals and coral reefs.
Dr Charlie Veron, The Godfather of Coral, Former Chief Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

COLLECTION PROCESS

1 Collection

Find & identify wild coral

Species also tagged
and photographed

Data about conditions recorded
Collect living coral sample

Live parent colony
left on reef

Biodiversity collection

1 sample of each species

Genetic collection

10-30 variations of
each species

2 Processing

Fragging

Each sample is divided into multiple living fragments

Microchipping

Each fragment is placed on an RFID plug for tracking in a database

Fragment growth

Fragment size doubles every 6-12 months

3 Preservation

Tissue
samples

Cryogenically
frozen

Genetic
analysis

DNA sequences
stored in database

Coral arks

Living coral fragments maintained and monitored in tanks

Living coral fragments, tissue samples and DNA are made available for reef research and restoration efforts

Why do we need to do this?

Coral cover and biodiversity are declining worldwide due to climate change. Losing coral reefs will be catastrophic. They support 25% of all marine life, provide essential foods and services to an estimated one billion people and serve as natural marine barriers that protect coastal communities.

With every bleaching event we lose vulnerable corals and with over 50% of corals already gone in the last few decades we don't have a moment to lose.
Dr Dean Miller, Managing Director of Great Barrier Reef Legacy and Project Director.
Facilities - Cairns Aquarium

The first official hub of the Forever Reef Project is now open at Cairns Aquarium, North Queensland. The facility is home to many species of precious coral already collected from the Great Barrier Reef, and is capable of hosting up to 12,000 live coral fragments.

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/ SPECIES COLLECTED°C TANK TEMP NEEDED