Corals in the Great Barrier Reef have just spawned

For every tiny bundle that meets its match, there's a chance new corals will flourish attracting colourful marine life.

Corals in the Great Barrier Reef have just spawned

Updated April 1, 2025, first published November 25, 2022

For every tiny bundle that meets its match, there's a chance fertilisation may occur, leading to more corals that'll in turn attract colourful marine life.

Queensland-based Reef Restoration Foundation is over the moon and for good reason.

The corals the not-for-profit organisation planted four years ago in a nursery on Fitzroy Island off the coast of Cairns have finally spawned.

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As water temperatures and tides reached optimal conditions in Welcome Bay, thousands of coral polyps simultaneously released millions of tiny bundles of eggs and sperms into the water, in what is referred to as the biggest reproduction show on earth.

"Watching our coral babies reproduce for the first time to create the next generation of corals was a beautiful and humbling experience," says marine biologist Azri Saparwan, who helped to plant the corals in 2018 in areas devastated by cyclones or bleaching.

For every tiny bundle that meets its match, there's a chance fertilisation may occur, leading to more corals that'll in turn attract colourful marine life.

Words byAkash Arora

Akash is the Deputy Travel Editor for Australian Community Media. He has lived and worked in four cities around the world – Sydney, London, New Delhi and New York – and, at last count, travelled to 42 countries.

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