CWORI

17/08/2026

Join us in discussing our animal rehabilitation program at CWORI with Department of Planning and Natural Resources, DPNR Featuring guest appearances 🐥💕

14/08/2026

We are lucky to be a part of developing the next generation of Virgin Island conservationists! ❤️🪸

11/08/2026

Celebrating growth and achievements this summer!

A huge congratulations to Koast and Dani on officially receiving their Open Water SCUBA certifications! They both completed their navigation, enriched air nitrox, fish identification, and stress and rescue courses while with us this summer! Both logging over 60 dives in the 3 months they were with us!

Investing in the next generation of ocean stewards and conservationists is a huge part of our mission at CWORI. Seeing Dani and Koast expand their skill sets and put their training into practice this summer has been inspiring. They have even been leading and supporting other young new divers as well during our Youth Ocean Explorers program internship week this summer

Thank you both for your hard work and dedication to our mission! We can’t wait to see where your passion takes you next! 👏🪸

Want to dive with us!??! Check out or our website for volunteer/internship opportunities!

10/08/2026

Want to learn more about Sargassum!? Check out what our Sargassum scientists are studying in this chat with Department of Planning and Natural Resources, DPNR for Science Saturday!

Sargassum is one of the Caribbean’s most talked-about natural pheno...

28/07/2026

🪸 Let us introduce you to our Summer Conservation Superstars! 🇻🇮

From left to right -

Nakyla - CWORI’s first Conservation Apprentice as part of our Workforce Development program supported by . She is a senior in college pursuing a double major in Marine Biology and Environmental Studies from

Kali - Joining us as part of the University of the Virgin Islands Emerging Caribbean Scientist program and bringing a background in horticulture from St. Croix, she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Marine Biology from

Dani - Originally from New York and in her senior year pursuing an undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Aquatic Science from

Genevieve - Currently pursuing a master’s in Marine Science from . She has a B.S in Environmental Science with minors in Sustainability and Biology from

Koast - Originally from Ukraine 🇺🇦, he is studying and majoring in Computer Science and Economics with a minor in Data Science.

We are so grateful to be able to watch them all grow on their own conservation journeys this summer! They have all added so much value to our team, helping us complete our restoration initiatives. Not to mention they are a good time! We wish them the best in their future endeavors and hope they come back to visit us!

10/07/2026

Nursery Inventory 🪸❤️

At the end of every month we complete inventory of our in-water and on-land nurseries.🤿📋 Believe it or not we count EVERY. INDIVIDUAL. CORAL. According to our current inventory we have 10,964 corals in our care.

To make sure our restoration efforts stay on track, our team has been busy counting and checking on every single coral fragment under our care both on land and in the ocean.

Why Inventory Matters: This time consuming process helps ensure we are participating in sustainable coral restoration practices and allows us to strategically work towards our outplanting goals to build a more resilient marine ecosystem for the U.S. Virgin Islands. 🇻🇮🪸
A huge shoutout to our dedicated conservation technicians who spend hours counting fragments to keep conservation efforts moving forward!

02/07/2026

St. Thomas Lionfish Derby 🦁 🎣

This year, the team at CWORI put their diving and fish cleaning skills to work in the annual St. Thomas Lionfish Derby, hosted by our incredible friends at !

While Lionfish are undeniably beautiful with their striped patterns, dramatic fins and venomous spines, they pose a massive threat to our local marine ecosystems. Because they are native to the Indo-Pacific region, they are a highly invasive species here in the Caribbean. In the Virgin Islands, they have no real predators to keep populations in check. This is a big problem as a single female lionfish can release up to two million eggs per year! Lionfish are also voracious predators, eating juvenile fish like parrot fish which are vital to a healthy Caribbean reef ecosystem.

Don’t panic! There is a silver lining. Lionfish are actually delicious and can be made it to all sorts of yummy dishes. Derbies like the one hosted by are one of our best tools for controlling their population and protecting our local juvenile fish.

Thank you to everyone who organized, participated and cheered us on! It truly takes a team of dedicated conservationists to protect our beautiful reefs! Special thanks to for teaching us how to clean a Lionfish properly!

29/06/2026

Did you know that shallow coral reefs are some of the most diverse habitats on planet earth!? The reefs of the United States Virgin Islands are home to 580+ reef fish species and 40+ reef-building coral species. The coral reefs of the USVI are worth $187 million dollars annually, which includes values from tourism, recreation, culture, amenities, commercial fisheries, and coastal protection. -

Coral reefs are responsible for the beautiful beaches and colorful dive sites which we all know and love!

You can help protect our corals reefs by minimizing your plastic consumption and utilizing reef safe sunscreen! 🧴 😊 🪸

17/06/2026

Happy World Sea Turtle Day!

Did you know sea turtles have been around since the time of dinosaurs!?!

At CWORI we partner with .usvi for sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation. Behind every successful sea turtle release is a dedicated team and countless hours of care.

At CWORI, we are committed to rescue, rehabilitation, and education, ensuring that injured or sick sea turtles get a second chance at life in the wild.

Thank you to our incredible team, volunteers, and supporters who make this work possible! 💙

Here are 3 simple ways you can protect sea turtles today:

1-Keep beaches dark: turn off lights near beaches so nesting moms and hatchlings can find their way to the ocean safely.
2-Limit single-use plastics: Plastic bags look a lot like jellyfish in the water and those are some turtle’s favorite snacks.
3-Slow down when boating! :Keep a lookout for turtles surfacing for air, especially near shallow reefs and seagrass beds.



Photo by

15/06/2026

Summer in the Caribbean means its fieldwork season, especially for our Sargassum research team! We want to understand the role of Sargassum as a habitat in the USVI. Our team goes out to collect videos of fish under the rafts, dip net samples of Sargassum and clinging fauna, and plankton tows. Our videos are analyzed to identify the different species of fish utilizing sargassum as a habitat 🐟. Dip net samples of Sargassum are freshwater rinsed, divided by species and morphotype, and then weighed on the boat and returned to the raft. Our freshwater rinse collects the clinging fauna, these samples are strained and preserved in isopropyl alcohol for species identification and measuring under the microscope back at our facilities 🦀🐚🦐