The Delta Electronics Foundation held its inaugural "Delta International Coral Restoration Symposium" on August 21–22, 2025, drawing experts from Japan, Australia, the United States, Indonesia, Singapore, and beyond.
The inaugural symposium was held at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung.
The Foundation's coral restoration efforts trace back to 2020, when volunteers were shaken by the sight of bleached coral during a dive. That experience sparked their commitment to action. To date, the Foundation has restored more than 10,000 coral colonies and established the "Chaojing Coral Seed Conservation Center" in partnership with the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology. Over the next five years, the Foundation aims to preserve 300 coral species.
BlueTrend was honored to be invited to the event. Read on for highlights of the real-world case studies shared at the symposium!
Adapting to Local Conditions: How Coral Restoration Methods Differ Around the World
Those who follow coral restoration in Taiwan will know that approaches vary even across different regions of the island. In Penghu, for example, corals are secured onto restoration bricks; along the Northeast Coast, frames and ropes are used; and in recent years, Xiaoliuqiu has experimented with attaching corals to wave-dissipating blocks.
Restoration methods are heavily shaped by local environmental conditions, and countries around the world have consequently developed remarkably different techniques.
In Onna Village, Okinawa, Japan, coral restoration has been ongoing for 25 years. Locals observed that coral larvae grew particularly well on the steel poles used to cultivate a seaweed called mozuku, and so adopted a method known as "Habi-tate," in which corals are planted directly on steel poles.
In Onna Village, corals are planted on individual steel poles — an idea inspired by the locally famous mozuku seaweed.
Indonesia's Coral Triangle Center promotes the MARRS (Mars Assisted Reef Restoration System) method, which uses sand-coated steel structures called coral stars, onto which corals are attached. This approach is especially well suited to rubble-bottom environments. Because the frames are simple to fabricate and low in cost, they can be produced in ordinary small workshops.
The National University of Singapore has constructed the country's largest artificial reef — a multi-tiered structure standing 10 m tall. Its design ensures that corals at different depths all receive adequate sunlight, while simultaneously providing habitat and shelter for marine life. The reef has been placed on the sandy seabed off Sisters' Islands.
Singapore's coastal waters are chronically turbid due to intensive nearshore economic activity, making light penetration a key design consideration for the artificial reef.
Planting Coral Isn't Enough — We Need to Breed "Super Corals" That Can Withstand Warming
As marine heatwaves grow more frequent, sheer effort in planting corals is no longer sufficient. We must also identify "super corals" capable of resisting climate warming. This is precisely where science and technology come together — researching the stressors corals face, selecting resilient strains, and engineering environments that accelerate coral growth.
A poster area adjacent to the main venue showcased research by Taiwanese institutions, including Academia Sinica, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-sen University, and National Taiwan University. Delta Electronics, drawing on decades of expertise in the technology industry, has developed lighting spectrum and water quality management equipment specifically tuned for coral growth. This technology has been deployed at the Chaojing Coral Seed Conservation Center, and last year was introduced in collaboration with the National Parks Board of Singapore in support of the "100,000 Coral Restoration Initiative."
Beyond asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction is equally critical to improving coral survival rates. Australia's RRAP (Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program) has developed innovative techniques for collecting coral eggs at land-based facilities and settling them onto tiles, which are then cut into small fragments, mounted on carriers, and deployed at sea — helping corals through their most vulnerable early stage. Although most corals spawn seasonally, the research team uses cryogenic technology to keep these coral-seeded tiles available year-round.
Australia employs aquaculture techniques to improve early-stage survival rates of coral larvae.
Meanwhile, the STAR (Species Threat Abatement and Restoration) metric, championed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), quantifies whether conservation actions are genuinely reducing the risk of species extinction. For coral restoration, this tool can clearly demonstrate how actions reduce threats and improve survival rates, and helps organizations compare the effectiveness of different strategies to ensure resources are directed toward the most critical and impactful measures.
Quantifying restoration outcomes through metrics helps evaluate whether an action constitutes an effective conservation measure.
Stronger Together: Protecting Coral Requires Collective Action
Coral restoration is never a solo endeavor. Focusing solely on planting corals, without sharing experiences or pooling resources, yields limited results. In the face of rapidly warming oceans and mounting environmental pressures, cross-border learning and collaboration are essential to accelerating the discovery of more effective solutions and collectively strengthening ecosystem resilience.
In recent years, Delta Electronics has not only invested resources in domestic coral restoration but has also actively expanded internationally, forging connections and exchanging experience with organizations in multiple countries. Delta became the first Taiwanese company to receive UN accreditation to attend the UN Biodiversity Conference and host a side event — a testament to the company's commitment to conservation, and a moment that brought Taiwan's efforts to the world's attention.
This symposium likewise provided a precious platform for Taiwanese academic institutions, NGOs, and other stakeholders to engage face-to-face with international experts, learning about each other's challenges and breakthroughs in coral restoration. Most importantly, it created new connections and opportunities for collaboration. We hope that Taiwan's experience will reach a wider audience and make an ever-greater impact in the global conservation movement!
Further Reading
