About Bonds

Deep Sex: Coral Spawning

Every year during the full-moon cycle in September and October, Curaçao's undersea reefs shudder with the release of gametes of love. The womb of the sea becomes a primordial mix of the eggs and sperm of thousands of hard corals that inhabit Curaçao's undersea kingdoms. It's truly a sight not to be missed and best seen at places like Mushroom Forest, with its aggregation of star corals.

The coral spawning usually takes place between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., usually being the operative word. Be prepared to hunker down in front of a coral head from about 8:30 p.m. on until a mercurial Mother Nature decides it's time.

Coral spawning comes in three types: broadcast spawners with both eggs and sperm in one convenient packet; some emit a new polyp, like a live birth; and others corals do all the fertilization internally.

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