The restoration of coral reef population in coastal regions is currently a growing concern. Many attempts have been made to apply new approaches to limit the deterioration of coral reefs, and to accelerate the growth of new reefs to protect coastal areas and ecosystems using available renewable energy sources. This paper highlights the new approaches and their various advantages and limitations in tidal and wave energy. The paper also suggests improvements to some of those systems using the recent developments in soft robotics, especially the use of biomimetic fish as a feasible support platform for the monitoring and maintenance of the power generation and potential restoration systems. © 2023 IEEE.