Monsoon Aquatics was established as a commercial coral collection business operating across northern Australia, supplying the global aquarium trade through a regulated wild harvest fishery. While historically sustainable, increasing pressure on coral reefs, supply uncertainty, and growing scrutiny of wild harvest have highlighted the need for alternative production pathways.
In response, we have been transitioning toward land-based coral aquaculture to maintain industry supply while building capacity for reef restoration. This has involved scaling both fragmentation and coral spawning within a commercial production system. Outputs reach up to 2,000 coral fragments per week across more than 60 species (Fig. 1), alongside successful spawning and rearing of multiple taxa (Table 1), including the first documented captive spawning of Homophyllia australis (Fig. 2).
A major focus has been improving larval rearing, settlement, and early grow-out, where most losses occur. Co-culture approaches have reduced labour and improved system stability, including Mespilia globulus and nudibranchs to reduce algal fouling and control pest Aiptasia spp anemones. Additional work is exploring nutrition, substrate design, and automation to improve early-stage consistency.
These systems highlight the importance of polyculture, with effective production resembling managed ecosystems. This transition demonstrates a pathway for coral fisheries to evolve toward systems that support both industry supply and reef restoration.