Articles
Conservation & Sustainability
The Ocean’s Future Is Female
How Coral Catch is Restoring Reefs - and Reimagining Possibility for Indonesian Women
On the shores of Gili Air, a small island in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province, a quiet revolution is taking place beneath the waves.
Coral reefs, often called the "rainforests of the sea," are among the most diverse and vital ecosystems on the planet. They support 25% of all marine species, protect coastlines from erosion and storms, and sustain the livelihoods of millions through fisheries and tourism. Yet, these crucial habitats are under threat. Nearly half of the world's coral reefs have been lost over the past 30 years due to climate change, pollution, and destructive fishing practices. Rising sea temperatures trigger coral bleaching, where corals lose the algae that provide them with energy, resulting in mass decimation. Without urgent action, scientists warn that up to 90% of coral reefs could disappear by 2050.
While most coral restoration projects are measured by how many reefs are rebuilt or how many coral fragments are planted, Coral Catch measures something deeper: the lives transformed through the process.
Founded in 2021 by Dutch dive instructor and conservationist Rose Huizenga, the Coral Catch programme offers fully-funded scholarships to Indonesian women to become certified scientific divers, skilled coral restoration practitioners, and powerful community educators. In a region where scuba diving is dominated by men and environmental science often excludes women - especially local women - Coral Catch offers an alternative. It’s not just about the reefs; it’s about equity, agency, and reclaiming a relationship with the sea.
Turning Tides: Where Coral Grows and Women Lead
Each cohort - referred to as a "batch" - undergoes nine intensive weeks of both practical and theoretical training. With three batches per year, the programme is currently supporting its 11th batch, with plans for ongoing expansion.
The curriculum is rigorous, including:
- 55+ hours of underwater diving
- 180 hours of classroom lectures in marine ecology, reef restoration, coral taxonomy, sustainable tourism, and climate change
- Skill-building in project management, public speaking, advocacy, and environmental storytelling
These women - affectionately nicknamed the Coral Catch Superwomen - are not just trained as divers. They emerge as conservation ambassadors, armed with both knowledge and confidence, ready to create ripple effects in their home communities.
Coral Catch makes you see what’s possible for women. Not just underwater, but in every part of your life.— Yasmin, Batch 4
For many participants, this is the first time they've felt seen in a professional or scientific setting. Most of them arrive as inexperienced divers, yet leave able to dive to 30 metres, plant coral fragments on custom-built artificial reef structures, and speak with confidence about the threats to our oceans to their local communities and international audiences. It is a holistic reimagining of who gets to be a conservationist - and how.
“When we try to fit into male-dominated roles, we often have to harden ourselves,” one graduate shares. “Coral Catch invites women to lead in a way that’s soft, strong, and rooted in community. It’s deeply Indonesian in that way.”
A scuba diver tends coral fragments on a submerged nursery frame, restoring the reef.
A group assembles coral frames at an outdoor reef-restoration workshop, guided by a facilitator.
The Impact: Reefs Restored, Lives Reclaimed
Since launching, Coral Catch has:
- Trained 40 women from across Indonesia
- Installed over 250 reef structures (including coral trees, hex domes, vertical ropes, and coral houses)
- Transplanted 5,400+ coral fragments
- Restored more than 700 square meters of degraded reef
The ecological benefits are measurable, but the social impact may be even more significant.
The programme has:
- Delivered swimming lessons to over 105 women, many of whom had never entered the ocean before
- Hosted education sessions for 200+ school children, introducing marine science in culturally relevant ways
- Built a growing network of alumni who support each other long after graduation
- Established a long-term mentorship program that ensures the Superwomen receive lifelong support from the Coral Catch team and its 40 ambassadors, high-profile female entrepreneurs, scientists, and changemakers from around the world
These women now lead workshops, speak at conferences, and create coral nurseries in their home regions. They represent a new generation of ocean advocates - not shaped by extractive science, but by a sense of guardianship and shared belonging.
A Space to Belong
What sets Coral Catch apart isn’t just the curriculum. It’s the care embedded within the process.
The programme deliberately creates a space where women collaborate, rather than compete. Where resources are shared, not gatekept. Where mental health is prioritised alongside technical skill. From daily circle check-ins to journaling and peer mentorship, participants are encouraged to reflect, rest, and restore themselves as they work to restore the sea.
In a society where many women have never seen someone who looks like them in a wetsuit - let alone leading a dive team - Coral Catch provides representation that resonates. For the first time, women are seen not just as beneficiaries of climate solutions, but as architects of them.
“Real empowerment doesn’t come from giving women a voice,” says founder Rose Huizenga “, it comes from making space for them to use their own.”
Women collaborating on conservation efforts.
Towards a Wider Ocean of Change
Despite the depth of its impact, Coral Catch operates with limited resources. Funding for grassroots conservation - particularly projects led by women - remains hard to access. Navigating local gender norms can be complex. Scaling the model to other regions requires deep listening and care.
But the Coral Catch team is determined. They are currently working with universities in Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to formalise the training programme into a replicable conservation curriculum. The vision? A regional network of women-led reef restoration efforts, grounded in local knowledge and sisterhood.
Other future plans include:
- Offering alumni support beyond the programme (e.g. job placements, dive master scholarships, mentorship, and economic empowerment)
- Expanding reef restoration targets to 2 hectares by 2030
- Building long-term partnerships with local dive shops, research centres, and eco-tourism operators
Strength in Sisterhood
In a world grappling with climate breakdown, economic precarity, and gender injustice, Coral Catch offers a rare kind of hope - one built not on heroics, but on the quiet power of collective action.
Here, conservation is not an isolated act but a shared journey. Women from different walks of life come together to learn new skills, restore fragile reefs, and claim their place in a field that has too often overlooked them. Each coral fragment they plant is more than a step toward ocean recovery - it is a declaration that they, too, belong in shaping the planet’s future.