Scientists Successfully Freeze Great Barrier Reef Coral

Assorted reef fish swim above a staghorn coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
Assorted reef fish swim above a staghorn coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
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Scientists Successfully Freeze Great Barrier Reef Coral

Assorted reef fish swim above a staghorn coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
Assorted reef fish swim above a staghorn coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Scientists working on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have successfully trialed a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae they say could eventually help rewild reefs threatened by climate change.

Scientists are scrambling to protect coral reefs as rising ocean temperatures destabilize delicate ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events in the last seven years including the first ever bleach during a La Nina phenomenon, which typically brings cooler temperatures.

Cryogenically frozen coral can be stored and later reintroduced to the wild but the current process requires sophisticated equipment including lasers. Scientists say a new lightweight "cryomesh" can be manufactured cheaply and better preserves coral. In a December lab trial, the world's first with Great Barrier Reef coral, scientists used the cryomesh to freeze coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS). The coral had been collected from the reef for the trial, which coincided with the brief annual spawning window.

"If we can secure the biodiversity of coral … then we'll have tools for the future to really help restore the reefs and this technology for coral reefs in the future is a real game-changer," Mary Hagedorn, senior research scientist at Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute told Reuters from the AIMS lab.

The cryomesh was previously trialed on smaller and larger varieties of Hawaiian corals. A trial on the larger variety failed.

Trials are continuing with larger varieties of Great Barrier Reef coral.

The trials involved scientists from AIMS, the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Great Barrier Reef foundation and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.

The mesh technology, which will help store coral larvae at -196C, was devised by a team from the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, including Dr. Zongqi Guo and Professor John C. Bischof. It was first tested on corals by researcher Nikolas Zuchowicz.

“This new technology that we’ve got will allow us to do that at a scale that can actually help to support some of the aquaculture and restoration interventions,” said Jonathan Daly of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.



Peru Fisherman Lost for 95 Days in Pacific Ocean Returns Home

Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
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Peru Fisherman Lost for 95 Days in Pacific Ocean Returns Home

Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)

A Peruvian fisherman who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean, eating roaches, birds and sea turtles to survive, is returning home to his family.

Maximo Napa had set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two-week trip but ten days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him some 680 miles (1,094 km) off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.

"I did not want to die," Napa told Reuters after reuniting with his brother, in Paita, near the border with Ecuador. "I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles."

He said he stayed strong thinking about his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, even as he survived on rainwater he collected on the boat and ran out of food, ultimately spending the last 15 days without eating.

"I thought about my mother everyday," he said. "I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance.

His mother, Elena Castro, told local media that while her relatives had stayed optimistic, she had begun to lose hope.

"I told the Lord, whether he's alive or dead, just bring him back to me, even if it's just to see him," she told TV Peru. "But my daughters never lost faith. They kept telling me: Mom, he'll come back, he'll come back."

Napa was scheduled for more medical checks in Paita before heading south to Lima.