Eco Táctica Restores 400 Meters of Coral in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Approximately 400 meters of damaged and fragmented coral in Playa del Carmen’s reefs have been restored since 2022 through a marine regeneration project led by the civil association Eco Táctica, with support from the Faculty of Chemistry at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), according to Héctor Torres, the organization’s general director.

Torres said the work began with coral fragments that were loose and vulnerable in the ecosystem. The first new colonies appeared in 2025, an advance he said shows favorable results in the recovery process.

When permits for the project were processed, Torres explained, authorities set a reference of at least one centimeter of growth per year and a 50% survival rate. The most recent study in the recovery area, however, recorded growth of roughly one centimeter per month and a 90% coral survival rate, surpassing both benchmarks.

Torres stressed that the effort aims not only to conserve coral but also to benefit the reef ecosystem and the species that depend on these structures for food, shelter and development. Continued monitoring will track how the new colonies evolve and whether they become established in the reefs off Playa del Carmen.