FLORES, Indonesia — A remote Indonesian fishing village is turning away from destructive practices in favor of restoring reefs, paving the way for long-term healthy fisheries.

The team working off the Indonesian island of Seraya-besar, 310 miles (500 km) east of Bali, have reported five times more fish in the restored areas, including protected species, in the last two years alone.

The project to employ former fishermen to restore reefs instead of damaging marine habitats is managed by Coral Guardian, a French nonprofit dedicated to the conservation, awareness, research and enhancement of marine ecosystems.

Since the work began in 2014, the 15-man team has planted more than 26,000 healthy corals and established a 1,550-acre locally managed marine protected area. Where corals have been planted in the MPA, fish counts have jumped from about 200 to about 1,000 fish per 100 square meters over the past two years.

The idea is to show how communities can turn their own tides toward long-term sustainability of their waters, and to use this first project as a model for others to follow.

“We believe that effective biodiversity protection requires the involvement of local populations, their participation in its conservation and their capacity to sustainably manage the ecosystems on which they depend,” said Martin Colognoli, co-founder and scientific director of Coral Guardian, which is based in Paris, France.

Coral Guardian taught 15 former fishermen about reef science and health, and instructed them how to cut, grow and outplant corals. The organization also taught them how to manage the marine protected area and conduct biological monitoring.

Alongside the coral restoration, Coral Guardian is leading a study to track a group of 10 fishermen to gather consistent data about where fishers are most likely to fish, what they catch, how much they sell, and how much they and their families consume themselves. This data is used to monitor local fish populations for better management of surrounding ecosystems.

Now, the community works autonomously and has gained a natural appreciation and respect for the environment they have evolved to protect. They consider marine health part of their responsibility and have implemented their own fishing restrictions around restoration areas.

“The goal is to revive a circular economy around coral reefs, and show that there are solutions to combat local pressures on these ecosystems,” Colognoli said. “The fishermen and the whole village fully understand the importance of protecting the reefs.”

Sutopo, the local conservation program director who oversees operations in Seraya-besar year-round, said the community is grateful to have the education, training and support provided by Coral Guardian.

“At first, it was difficult for Coral Guardian’s idea to resonate with fishermen, because they’d been dynamite fishing since they were born,” Sutopo said. “Now, the community welcomes Coral Guardian’s presence and has embraced their activity as they’ve seen how it’s helped their waters.”

Following the success of Seraya-besar, Coral Guardian is planning similar programs in New Caledonia and Colombia in 2019.

To help start these and future initiatives, Goral Guardian has set up the Blue Center, a coral conservation training site where community representatives can come to learn about setting up a restoration program in their local waters. The aim is to create centers around the globe so program information and education is easily accessible to all.