A new, land-based coral spawning facility on Praslin Island in the Seychelles has achieved its first successful mass spawn, producing roughly 800,000 embryos and settling about 65,000 juvenile corals.
The project offers hope to corals in the Western Indian Ocean and could provide a scalable model for restoration worldwide.
Furthermore, the success of the project has been rapid. The lab became operational in November 2025 and is part of Nature Seychelles’ Assisted Recovery of Corals (ARC) program and supported by Canon EMEA.
The project combined careful timing of natural spawning with controlled laboratory protocols. High-resolution imaging and documentation, enabled by Canon’s funding and imaging technology, allowed researchers to observe reproductive timing, early growth stages and survival with unprecedented clarity.
Researchers plan to outplant genetically diverse juveniles onto reefs in 2026, monitor survival and growth and expand local technical training so communities can replicate the methods.
Commenting on the work, Dr. Jamie Craggs, co-founder of Coral Spawning International, stated:
“Canon imaging technology has been pivotal, allowing us to observe critical reproductive processes with a clarity we could only dream of before. The outcomes of this first spawning have been incredibly positive, and we will continue pushing the boundaries of coral reproductive science to new heights while equipping more communities with these vital tools.”
While Nature Seychelles CEO Dr. Nirmal Shah added:
“Witnessing our first successful spawning event at the lab has been incredibly rewarding…This lab, a key addition to our ARC facility thanks to Canon’s vital support and technology, has changed what is possible for coral-restoration in the Seychelles. Since November 2025, we have seen coral offspring not only survive but settle, grow and cross the most fragile thresholds of early life, turning a moment of spawning into a pipeline of living, growing reef-builders.”
