Our Projects are Guided by our Mission to Protect, Preserve, and Restore the Marine Environment & Specifically the Coral Reefs of the Turks and Caicos.

Adopt a Coral Program

Adopt a coral today and help restore a reef!

We have over 5,000 Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) fragments growing at our in-water nurseries which you can visit when diving the popular site ‘ThunderDome’ at North West Point, Providenciales. Each fragment is cared for until it is large and strong enough to be ‘planted’ back out on the natural reef. For only $50, you can adopt your own coral or gift it to a loved one. Each adoption comes with an e-certificate and TCRF membership!

Are you an avid diver or repeat visitor to the islands and want to take your commitment to restoration one step further?

Adopt an entire coral ladder! Create a lasting family memory, a place you can return to year after year and see the impact your adoption has had on the reef. For an annual donation of $1,500 you will get hands on and join our crew in the creation and population of your family’s very own commitment to healthier reefs. Adoption also comes with a sign where you can write a dedication, a poem, anything you want! When the corals are ready to be moved to the reef, join our crew and ‘plant’ your very own corals!

boat moorings - the first line of defense

You read that right; moorings are the first line of defense for coral reef protection. Restoration efforts are undermined each time an anchor hits the reef or drags through seagrass.

Since 2012, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund has been the lead non-governmental organization for the installation and maintenance of dive boat, snorkel boat and yacht moorings throughout the Turks & Caicos Islands under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR).

DECR is the local governmental agency responsible for maintaining the marine protected areas in the TCI as well as all other environmental issues. Although the snorkel and dive sites are almost entirely located within the Marine Protected National Parks, due to lack of capacity, installation and maintenance of moorings lies with us.

All moorings are installed by volunteers and with funding from private donations and merchandise sales. There is no public funding allocated to moorings. As of January 2023, we have installed over 125 proper sea floor anchors (no more chains wrapped around coral heads!) around the TCI with more planned for Grand Turk in late 2023.

Donations from divers, snorkelers and other visitors to these islands are needed to continue this project. Help us by purchasing a BCD/Bag tag or one of our yearly limited edition rashguards, 100% of proceeds going directly to Moorings.

Stony Coral Project

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease is a new threat to the reefs of the TCI. It is thought to be a bacterial disease that affects over 20 species of corals, mostly the large boulder-type, slow growing, reef building corals (think brain corals and similar species). It was first observed in Florida in 2014 and appeared in the TCI in 2019. It is a fast spreading, highly lethal disease if left unattended (up to 80% mortality in some of the species). But we are using the techniques developed over the past few years by researchers in Florida to tackle the disease in the TCI with the help of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources. But the intervention process is on a coral head by coral head basis, not a reef wide intervention, so it is time consuming and labor intensive - in other words, costly. But if we do nothing, large brain corals and pillar corals (as well as other boulder corals) will likely cease to exist on the TCI reefs which would be devastating. If you would like to help us in our fight against this disease, please donate.

rumpowered(TM) research

Rum-Powered Research TM was an idea born during World Ocean’s month 2021.

Mount Gay (https://www.mountgayrum.com/) and local distributor The Wine Cellar (https://winecellar.tc/) raised money for TCRF throughout the month of June by donating a dollar each from every Mount Gay cocktail sold in participating bars and restaurants. We started small but nearly 4,000$ was raised and whilst a little rum-powered ourselves, the idea was born.

“We can fund yearly research trips through rum!”

Local rum brand, Bambarra (https://bambarrarum.com/) jumped on board and donated a generous $5k towards our goal and Woody Creek Distillers (https://woodycreekdistillers.com/) who funnily enough don’t commercially produce rum. They do however have an exclusive to the Turks & Caicos Islands rum that they make in small batches for the islands. They came in with a whopping $15k and helped solidify the first ever Rum-Powered Research trip. 10 volunteers and 6 crew members braved some rough weather and spent an entire week aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II collecting data on the precious reefs of East Caicos, the region’s largest uninhabited island and a mecca for biodiversity.

EAst Caicos Project

The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund was awarded a €50,000 grant to survey the coral reefs off the coast of East Caicos, the largest uninhabited island in the Turks & Caicos Islands. The grant was awarded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) BEST 2.0 Programme (Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Oversees Countries and Territories). The completed survey forms a baseline which will allow us to monitor the ongoing health of these pristine reefs in the future and the TCRF has made a commitment to re-survey the sites at least every two years.  This data will also help the local government agency responsible for environmental issues develop a plan to protect the most sensitive areas before development begins on East Caicos.

Be a Citizen Scientist! Report A Lionfish

Lionfish have invaded the entire Caribbean, Tropical Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.  They are a menace to all native species, especially the all-important parrotfish, and consequently are a series threat to reef health around the area. 

Help us track the lionfish invasion around the TCI.  If you are snorkeling or diving and see a lionfish, please report it to us using our easy reporting form.