Pigeon Island coral restoration: ceramic plug attachment and Crown-of-Thorns starfish control?

Coral restoration across Pigeon Island National Park utilizes micro-fragmentation and asexual propagation. Healthy donor colonies of staghorn coral (Acropora formosa) are fragmented into 5cm nubbins and secured to unglazed ceramic plugs or wire mesh tables using non-toxic marine epoxy. Once nursery fragments calcify over 6 months, they are outplanted onto degraded natural reef framework. Concurrently, divers conduct manual culls of corallivorous Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci), injecting 15ml of household white vinegar into the central disc to trigger mortality without chemical reef toxicity.