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More than 6500 coral eating crown-of-thorns starfish have been removed from Cook Islands' reefs since 2020 when the latest outbreak was first detected.

Local divers go out to save Rarotonga’s reef from Taramea (crown of thorns starfish) on Thursday as part of CNN’s Call to Earth Day, journalist Caleb Fotheringham talks to some of them. Its tricky business removing destructive starfish Taramea from the reef.

The island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands is experiencing an outbreak of crown-of-thorns-starfish (taramea, Acanthaster planci), which could jeopardize the survival of its surrounding coral reef.

Reef fish, such as emperors, tropical snappers and rockcods, help keep numbers of crown-of-thorns starfish in check on the Great Barrier Reef, according to a new study from the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

The Reef-World Foundation – the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative – has launched new guidelines to help dive and snorkel operators assess when to conduct Crown-of-Thorns sea star (COTS) cleanups and how to do so in an environment

A team of Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) employees, volunteer freedivers and a representative from the Proprietors of Manuae Incorporated (PMI) has just returned from a crown-of-thorns starfish (taramea) removal expedition to the uninhabited island of Manuae.

So far 460 taramea have been removed from the reef and brought ashore for disposal.

The Vanuatu Environmental Science Society (VESS), a local conservation NGO, is pleased to be collaborating with Big Blue Scuba Dive and the New Zealand and British High Commissions in Vanuatu to protect the coral reefs from predators that leave bare rock in their wake.

Since the taramea (crown of thorns) was discovered on the reef floor of Rarotonga in July last year, 2800 of the coral eating sea creatures have been collected and destroyed.

The island’s reefs got some help fighting off predators earlier this year, thanks to the help of divers and engineers with the U.S. Navy. Member of the U.S.