A hurricane devastated a shallow coral reef in Belize, leaving large sections of the seafloor covered in rubble. More than two decades later, branching corals have returned to much of the damaged area. One part of that recovery came from a straightforward restoration method: growing coral fragments in underwater nurseries before transplanting them back onto the reef. According to a study published in Drones , Hurricane Iris struck Laughing Bird Caye National Park directly in 2001, severely damaging the reef and reducing live shallow-coral cover to less than 6%. The devastation became the starting point for restoration efforts at the site. After the storm, marine biologist Lisa Carne found living elkhorn coral fragments scattered among seagrass beds, suggesting that damaged reefs could be rebuilt by moving and growing fragments. That observation eventually led to a restoration programme at Laughing Bird Caye. That idea became the foundation of Fragments of Hope, a community-based restoration organisation in Placencia. The group began replenishing the reef in 2006, using fragments of Caribbean acroporid corals, including elkhorn and staghorn corals. Over the years, thousands of pieces were grown in underwater nurseries before being transplanted onto damaged sections of reef.
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