Fundación Grupo Puntacana

About us

The Center for Marine Innovation is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to marine conservation, restoration, and management. Inaugurated in 2018, the Center works with diverse partners to conduct research, environmental education, and active management and restoration projects.
In 2004, the Fundación Grupo Puntacana partnered with Counterpart International and the University of Miami to launch the first coral restoration program in the Dominican Republic. The objective of the project is to protect the coral reefs of the Punta Cana region and employ proactive restoration techniques for degraded reeds. At first, the project concentrated on restoring the remaining colonies of the endangered species, Acropora cervicornis, but has since expanded to diverse coral species.

Restoration consists of collecting coral fragments from existing colonies and then propagating them in underwater nurseries using different methods and materials. As the corals grow, the frames are trimmed and the coral fragments are transplanted back onto the reef.