Dr Jamie Craggs Pt. 1 — Marine Science, Coral Spawning & Reef Restoration

First things first — apologies for the gap since our last episode! Life got in the way for a few weeks, but we're back on schedule now and we've got a cracking episode to make up for it.

In this episode, Chris, James, and Gareth are joined by Dr. Jamie Craggs — marine biologist, coral researcher, and the scientist who changed everything we thought we knew about spawning coral in captivity.

Jamie is the principal aquarium curator at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London and the lead scientist behind Project Coral. He's also co-founder of Coral Spawning International, which is deploying spawning research globally in support of reef restoration and local communities — with over 100 systems now operating across 19 countries.

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Here, we focus on the big picture and Jamie's story: why the world's coral reefs are in such serious trouble, from climate-driven bleaching to blast fishing, and what the stakes really are for biodiversity, coastal communities, and the future of the hobby. Jamie takes us through his journey from hobbyist to researcher, explaining how he made the leap from jellyfish to corals and achieved the world's first predicted coral spawning event in a fully closed system — and what it took to scale that breakthrough into a global restoration tool.

We also get into coral biology along the way, covering the difference between brooders and broadcast spawners and why good husbandry is a more powerful scientific tool than it's often given credit for.

Jamie also highlights the Great Reef Census as a brilliant way for hobbyists and ocean lovers to contribute to real coral reef research from anywhere in the world — link here.

In Part 2, we get practical. Jamie will be back to walk us through what coral spawning at home actually looks like — and whether it might be more achievable than you'd think. Stay tuned.

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