Coral Restoration Efforts
Divers installing anchors for a new coral nursery. (pictured left)
Divers from Dynasty Marine, Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, R3EACH and Reef Renewal USA in partnership with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently worked with Ken Nedimyer to install anchors for a brand new coral nursery
Nedimyer, founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation, is now the Director of Reef Renewal International working to save coral reefs here in the Florida Keys and around the world.
“North America’s Great Barrier Reef” stretches from Miami down to the Dry Tortugas and is the third largest barrier reef in the entire world.
However, this incredible reef system is threatened by climate change, coral disease and heavy use by humans.
The anchors installed will be the foundation for Coral Trees
The combined efforts of organizations like Reef Renewal, Dynasty Marine, Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters and R3EACH bring hope for the future of Florida’s coral reefs. (pictured right)
The new anchors installed by this team will serve as the base for Coral TreesTM which enable conservationists to farm endangered coral species and “outplant” them onto the Florida Reef Tract. This method has been developed through years of research and has been proven to work with 11 different coral species including the critically endangered Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals.
Located just offshore near Marathon, this new site will add to a growing network of coral nurseries along the Florida Keys dedicated to preserving this precious ecosystem. The continuing cooperation of these organizations alongside FWC could prove to be crucial in securing a healthy future for Florida’s coral reefs.
In the words of Ken Nedimyer, "To rise to meet some of the biggest challenges our reefs have ever faced, we need to work together, collaborate and empower each other."
Coral Nursery Update
The first coral trees have been installed!
Exciting progress has been made on the new coral nursery. The first few coral trees have now been installed at the nursery. 2 Elkhorn coral trees and 1 Star coral tree are now in place in the new coral nursery. Elkhorn corals are critically endangered and Star corals are listed as endangered.
These 3 trees are a great start to what we hope will be a healthy and productive nursery. The corals will be monitored carefully by staff from Aquarium Encounters, R3EACH and Dynasty Marine.
These organizations in partnership with Ken Nedimyer, Reef Renewal USA and FWC will continue to maintain the corals until they grow enough to be outplanted onto the Florida Reef Tract.
We look forward to continuing this critical conservation work for the future of Florida’s coral reefs.”