As the climate crisis intensifies, the health of our oceans — and, in particular, our coral reefs — is becoming more critical than ever. In this interview, Sam Teicher, Co-Founder and Chief Reef Officer at Coral Vita, explores the cutting-edge innovations that are transforming marine restoration, the growing potential for global impact, and the urgent need for smarter policies, funding and collaboration.

What scientific or technological innovations are currently transforming the way we approach ecosystem restoration in marine and coastal environments?

Historically, terrestrial restoration has been far more advanced — consider, for example, reforestation efforts dating back several centuries. In contrast, the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems is a more recent and, from a technological point of view, less developed field. But that is changing rapidly.

We are now seeing rapid progress thanks to innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, environmental DNA — or eDNA — and computer vision. These technologies are being used to automate monitoring, assess biodiversity and improve restoration outcomes.

For example, rather than carrying out underwater transects with pen and paper, eDNA enables rapid assessments of the species present. Camera systems and photomosaics can generate 3D reconstructions of reef areas, enabling teams to track changes over time with great precision.

At Coral Vita, we have also developed our own proprietary technology suite, called Brain Coral. This combines machine learning with computer vision to automate the monitoring of coral growth. Instead of manually photographing and measuring each coral, the system identifies which ones are growing fastest or which are most resilient to stress factors.

This not only improves restoration outcomes, but also reduces costs and increases scalability. We are now licensing this system to other organisations.

In terms of biological methods, we use open-source techniques such as microfragmentation and assisted evolution. These help us to grow corals more quickly and make them more resilient to climate-related threats — something that is crucial to increasing our impact on the scale required.

Which sub-sectors of the catering industry do you think have the greatest potential for commercialisation and scale — and why?

The restoration of coral reefs is, of course, our main focus, and I believe it has enormous commercial potential given the ecological and economic value of the reefs. These ecosystems support a billion people, are home to 25% of marine life, protect coastal areas, sustain fisheries and, according to some estimates, generate up to 10 billion dollars a year.

What sets Coral Vita apart is our business model. Most coral restoration projects are run by NGOs or research institutes that rely on donations and grants. We are a mission-driven, for-profit company, which allows us to access different sources of funding. Resorts, governments, insurance companies and property developers pay us to restore the reefs on which they depend.

Our onshore coral farms operate as coral factories: they produce, at scale, diverse and climate-resilient corals, whilst also serving as educational centres and tourist attractions. This generates revenue, promotes skills development and creates benefits for local communities. It is a model that we believe can be scaled up and replicated globally.

In your experience, what are the most pressing barriers — technical, regulatory, financial or social — that currently limit large-scale restoration efforts?

There are a number of significant challenges.

Firstly, regulatory barriers. Every country with coral reefs has its own rules and licensing procedures. Often, local authorities lack the expertise or capacity needed to effectively assess restoration projects. That is why we work closely with governments, building relationships that help streamline approvals, whilst ensuring benefits for local communities and long-term local engagement.

Secondly, financial barriers. Although biodiversity credits and blue bonds are emerging, nature remains, to a large extent, absent from global financial accounting. There has been progress, such as the European Union’s Nature Restoration Law and the Montreal-Kunming Protocol, but we need mechanisms to finance biodiversity at scale.

Coral insurance, nature-based debt swaps and nature-positive investments are promising solutions, but they need to be rolled out more quickly.

There is also a huge funding gap for early-stage innovators. Many excellent ideas end up falling by the wayside due to a lack of funding in the range of $5,000 to $100,000. There are large funds, but there is a lack of early-stage funding — and that funding is essential.

Finally, there is the challenge of education and raising awareness. From hotel owners to investors, not everyone understands the value of reef ecosystems or how restoration can contribute to their financial performance. This change in mindset is essential.

How do you view the contribution of coral reef restoration to broader climate adaptation and resilience objectives?

Reefs act as natural barriers. They protect coastal areas from storms and erosion. Restoring them is therefore not just an ecological victory — it is also a form of climate adaptation infrastructure.

As well as providing physical protection, restored reefs support food security, livelihoods and tourism-related economies. Our approach is to position reef restoration as a win-win-win solution: environmental resilience, economic opportunity and social impact.

Communities gain employment and education; investors secure long-term value; and ecosystems recover.

With the right policies and funding, restoration can become a key component of national climate strategies, particularly in coastal and island countries.

What trends or developments do you think will shape the restoration of marine ecosystems over the next 5 to 10 years — in terms of both innovation and funding?

There are some major changes that I hope — and believe — will happen.

Governments will be better prepared and better equipped to support good restoration projects. Approval times will be reduced and policies will evolve to allow for more timely action.

Financial innovation will come of age. Conservation financing instruments, such as biodiversity credits, coral insurance and climate funds, will unlock capital for restoration.

Private-sector players — hotels, ports, insurance companies — will increasingly pay to restore the ecosystems that protect their assets.

Technology innovators from various sectors will bring transformative tools to ocean restoration, ranging from artificial intelligence to robotics.

Investment capital will grow, not only through funds worth billions of dollars, but also through support for early-stage ventures. We started Coral Vita with a grant of $1,000. We need more opportunities like that.

But we also need patient capital — people willing to fund long-term, high-impact work without expecting quick, exponential returns. Otherwise, the best ideas may never get off the ground.

Based on everything you’ve seen, are we any closer to that vision? How far are we from making it a reality?

I’d say I’m an optimistic realist.

We know what is possible. We know what we are up against. The obstacle is not money — there is plenty of capital in the world. The real problem is the will to act. A relatively small group of leaders, institutions and investors could change the system, if they decided to do so.

I can see progress. There are excellent tools, brilliant people and powerful ideas. But there is also resistance, inertia and institutions that move slowly.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to coordinate better, provide funding earlier, act more quickly and collaborate more.

For example, in the United States, there are 300 billion dollars sitting in donor-advised funds. Just imagine if even a small fraction of that amount were channelled into early-stage ocean restoration initiatives. The impact could be transformative.