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2025 Featured Stories

June

Highlights from the 50th U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting in Washington, D.C.

A large group of people sit and stand around a long table with blue skirting and smile at the camera. A 50th Meeting slide adorned with the USCRTF logo hangs in the background.

NOAA and DOI co-chaired the 50th meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, the organization that leads U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems throughout the nation. The public business meeting was held at the Department of the Interior's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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April

Jem Baldisimo: A Coral Reef Conservation Program 2025 Knauss Fellow

A woman smiling and jumping with her arms outstretched, with a lake and mountaintop in the background.

In February, the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) welcomed not one, but two Knauss Fellows for 2025. One of them is Jem Baldisimo, who is sponsored by Virginia Sea Grant and is finishing her PhD in Ecological Sciences from Old Dominion University. She received her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Ateneo de Manila University, and her Master of Environment degree from the University of Melbourne.

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Kara Chuang: A Coral Reef Conservation Program 2025 Knauss Fellow

A woman working in a fish hatchery

In February 2025, we welcomed one of two 2025 Knauss fellows to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) office: Kara Chuang. Kara is supported by Maine Sea Grant and received her M.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Maine in August of 2024.

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Shaping the Future of Coral Health: 2025 U.S. Caribbean Coral Disturbance Workshop in Puerto Rico

A group of people stand on a beach. A person in a blue shirt and hat and sunglasses holds up a green instrument. Another person wearing yellow shorts and a gray top holds a blue clipboard and is poised to write on the tablet.

The 2025 U.S. Regional Caribbean Disturbance Workshop was held in Puerto Rico and discussed topics on coral restoration, invasive soft corals, resources for coral disturbance response and recovery, and environmental compliance. The main objectives were to share information, learn from each other, and identify solutions to joint challenges.

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March

Building capacity for water quality and coral monitoring in American Samoa

A snorkeler wearing a longsleeved, full length dive skin, gloves, and fins hovers over a shallow coral reef while holding a writing tablet and measuring tape. The measuring tape stretches across the top of a tan, branching coral.

Capacity for water quality and coral monitoring was increased in American Samoa by following a successful three-pronged approach. Engaging partners, training local communities and citizens, and connecting water quality monitoring to natural resource management objectives ensures continuation of this work into the future.

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