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| mostly dead elkhorn thicket, Looe Key, FL; credit:K, Nedimyer |
A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maryland say that only 2% of Florida's reef system remains in tact. Analyzing data from 2012 to 2018, the report characterizes the outlook for living coral reef as "dire". The report concludes that climate change causing ocean warming and acidification is the major cause of coral die-offs. Coral reefs are widely considered to be the most diverse marine environment, responsible for supporting over 25% of marine life. Along the populated Florida coast pollution and over-development are additional stressors leading to unhealthy corals. What corals remain are types marine scientists refer to as "weedy" species that are resilient, but are not stony coral, the major reef builders important to bio- diversity.
Last year NOAA announced a plan to revitalize seven reef sites arouind Floriad in a decades long effort to preserve some of what remains. The "Iconic Reefs" project calls for restoring nearly three million square feet of the Florida Reef Tract, about the size of 62 football fields. Growing corals in the laboratory and transplanting them in Nature has proved successful over the past fifteen years. The project will escalate these techniques to large-scale replanting. In the first phase, efforts will focus on transplanting elkhorn and staghorn corals that are fast growing, and remove invasive species like algae and snails while reintroducing sea urchins and crabs that help keep reefs cleand and healthy. The initial goal is to grow coral cover from 2% to 15% . The project's second phase will focus on slowing growing foundational species propagated from surviving or rescued colonies with the goal of establishing self-sustaining colonies that return coral cover to its historic 25% level.
Healthy coral reefs are not just visually stunning, but have economic value. Florida's reefs are estimated to be worth $8 million to the state's economy and are are responsible for 70,000 local jobs. Scientist have been studying ways to replant reefs that are damaged from ship strikes and storms. There is hope that the same techniques can be used to replace corals killed by climate change. Legislation was introduced into Congress last year, the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act, sponsored by legislators from Florida and Hawaii, to establish a national task force and set strategies for reef restoration. Experts do not think restoration of corals to pre-industrial levels is possbile, but do think restoration and management efforts can buy time for corals to adapt to new environmental conditions.