The astonishing wildlife spectacle takes place every year on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia – and it’s utterly magical.

By Melissa Hobson

Published: Wednesday, 20 November 2024 at 15:03 PM


The largest spawning event on the planet is due to take place on Thursday night as scientists expect the Great Barrier Reef to give birth to the next generation of corals.

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science will be using this opportunity to scale up restoration efforts of the reef. They will be going out onto the reef in Cairns and Port Douglas to teach tourism operators how to grow baby corals using a technique called Coral IVF.

“This is critical for the recovery of our reef off the back of the worst summer on record, when it endured the most widespread mass coral bleaching event to date, two cyclones and widespread flooding,” says the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Main image: 2023 soft corals spawning/Calypso Productions

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