Coral Reefs: What's the status of the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve?
- abbycontactspace
- Dec 14, 2025
- 3 min read
We thank Amigos de Tres Palmas for inviting us to respond to the recent article published by El Nuevo Día and written by Keila López Alicea, titled “Bajo amenaza los corales de Puerto Rico y el Caribe: desaparece la mitad en menos de 45 años.”
At Isla Mar, we echo the concerns expressed by Dr. Edwin Hernández and Dr. Nilda Jiménez regarding the critical state of coral reefs both globally and within our archipelago. We also extend our appreciation to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) for providing the regional data and for underscoring the urgent, large-scale societal changes required to safeguard coral reef ecosystems.
As highlighted by Dr. Jiménez, numerous restoration initiatives are underway across Puerto Rico, including the “Caribbean Reef Project” led by ISER Caribe. This collaborative effort brings together 22 local and international organizations (Isla Mar included), to address the region’s escalating coral decline.
At Isla Mar, we remain firmly committed to assisting with coral reef restoration and establishing long-term, science-based monitoring programs capable of generating robust, actionable data.
The Tres Palmas Marine Reserve has experienced significant bleaching impacts during the 2023 and 2024 summer and fall seasons, with extensive losses to sensitive branching coral species. We have also still observed the presence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) that made its first appearance in the reserve in 2022 and resulted in the rapid decline of many coral colonies. These events reaffirm that even protected areas remain vulnerable to global climate stressors.
Videos by Annalysa Gil, one of our citizen scientists that assisted restoration efforts.
In response to this, the Caribbean Reef Project has focused the collective effort island-wide to:
Plant more than 120,000 coral fragments
Release 9,600 sea urchins, and
Raise and release more than 600 Caribbean king crabs to help control algae overgrowth.
At Tres Palmas specifically, Isla Mar collaborated with HJR Reefscaping led by ISER Caribe to outplant 21,896 corals during the summer of 2025 with a goal to outplant 42,000 corals to this area alone. These corals will be monitored for survival success. Our citizen science program also played an active role in these out-planting activities demonstrating that our citizens can become great stewards of initiatives and projects in present and future efforts. This restoration initiative will continue in the summer of 2026 as well.
For a comprehensive overview of the magnitude and impact of this project, we invite the public to read our recent blog entry, originally featured in El Coquí of Rincón Magazine in June 2025.
Despite these meaningful efforts, it is undeniable that Tres Palmas, like many sites around Puerto Rico, has experienced notable coral loss even under protective measures.
"un Pueblo de Coral"
To learn more about the recent events at Tres Palmas and upcoming restoration work planned for summer 2026, we encourage the community to attend the premiere of ISER Caribe’s documentary “un Pueblo de Coral” on December 20, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Rincón's Public Plaza. Besides the premiere presentation, there will also be a panel discussion with experts to clarify any questions regarding the project and the status of coral reefs in Puerto Rico.
Reserve your seat here, it’s free to attend!
Successful habitat restoration at scale requires strong governmental support, sustained funding, and consistent community engagement.
We hope to see and be a part of more initiatives of this caliber championed by public agencies and embraced by citizens, as long-term monitoring and accountability are essential.
Photos of coral reef restoration efforts at Tres Palmas in summer 2025. Foto: Raúl Ortiz (Pichón Duarte)
Everyone has a role to play in the recovery of coral reefs. Community members can contribute by:
Volunteering in restoration and monitoring programs through citizen-science training.
Supporting nonprofit organizations dedicated to coral conservation and research so that we can continue this work regardless of grant funding availability
Advocating for clean water, proper watershed management, and responsible land-use practices.
Adopting sustainable lifestyle habits that reduce environmental pressure.
Educating themselves and others about the ecological and economic importance of coral reefs.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Tres Palmas Marine Reserve:
Actions you can take today:
