NOAA CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM
A vibrant coral reef in clear blue water with small fish swimming around.

Coral Reef Conservation Program

Since 2000, NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program has executed a multidisciplinary approach to managing and conserving coral reef ecosystems. The program focuses on resilience-based management, which will lead to thriving, diverse, resilient coral reefs that are able to sustain valuable ecosystem services for current and future generations.

MAIN SECTIONS

A scuba diver attaches coral fragments onto an underwater branching PVC structure that already has other coral fragments attached to it.

Digital Corals

 A close up of a pink and white mushroom coral

Funding

 A close-up view of many tan coral polyps lining a colony's tissue, tentacles extended.

Education

 A white line stretches across pockets of brown coral along the seafloor. A scuba diver swims along the line, recording information on an underwater slate.

Monitoring

TOPICS

TOPICS

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Management Capacity

Management capacity of coral reef conservation and management programs is critical for the effective conservation and restoration of coral reef ecosystems.

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Land-Based Sources of Pollution

The health of many coral reef ecosystems depends on effective management of land-based activities in adjacent coastal and upland regions.

A coral head with healthy brown polyps surrounding a large white dead area.

Disease and Disturbance Response

Coral reef disturbances (e.g., disease outbreaks, bleaching, invasive species, and strong hurricanes and typhoons) are major events that can have dramatic, acute impacts on coral reefs.

A school of silver fish swim over a large swatch of bleached coral.

Changing Ocean Conditions

Changing ocean conditions, including increases in water temperature and heat stress events that lead to coral bleaching, can dramatically alter ecosystem function as well as diminish the goods and services coral reef ecosystems provide to people.

A school of silver bigeye trevally fish swim around a scuba diver hovering vertically over a coral reef. The diver photographs the fish as they swim by.

Sustainable Fisheries

Managing sustainable fisheries is a dynamic process that requires constant and routine attention to new information that can guide management actions.

Small, round tan corals sit on a grid system within an aquarium tank.

Coral Restoration

One key tool in resilience-based management of coral reef ecosystems is direct restoration of degraded coral reefs.

A healthy coral reef with a school of small fishes in the foreground, with a scuba diver taking photos of the reef with a camera in the background.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program

This program is a strategic framework for conducting sustained observations of biological, climatic, and socioeconomic indicators in U.S. coral reef ecosystems.

Two people fish off the side of a boat equipped with multiple rods in the center console, as a third person looks on. The person in the foreground is actively reeling a fish in.

Social Science Program

A deeper understanding of the human connections to coral reefs help managers assess the social and economic consequences of coral reef management policies, interventions, and activities.

HIGHLIGHTS

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Featured Stories

Read the latest feature story highlighting the activities of CRCP and the work we fund.

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Featured Publications

Explore a recent publication featuring work done by CRCP scientists and partners.

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Featured Projects

Discover one of the hundreds of CRCP-funded projects supporting scientific research, conservation, and more.