NOAA’s Iconic Reefs Mission Launched To Restore the Seven Reef Sites in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Over the past decades, the coral reefs within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary have been devastated by disease, bleaching, hurricanes, and heavy human use. The sanctuary and its partners work together to protect the reefs, but their efforts have not been able to keep up with the decline.

Demand for Restoration

The Florida Keys is home to over 6,000 species of plants and animals, many of which live in the coral reefs. The reefs provide shelter and protection to recreationally and commercially important fish species and other marine organisms, such as sea turtles and spiny lobsters.

Aside from supporting diverse plant and animal life, the coral reefs of the Keys also play an important role in human survival throughout the island chain. Corals create a barrier between the islands and the open ocean, scattering wave energy and reducing the impacts of storms and high tides. They also form the basis of Florida Keys' economy by contributing $2.4 billion in sales annually.

During the past 40 years, the coral cover in the Florida Keys reefs has shown more than a 90% decline, attributed to a web of interconnected problems. Without human intervention, the corals can no longer provide the habitat, structure, and beauty for which the Florida Keys are known.

Saving the Seven Reef Sites

Last April, NOAA gathered a group of more than 25 restoration practitioners, researchers, and members of state and federal agencies. They aim to create a first-of-its-kind restoration strategy focusing on seven distinct coral reefs within the Keys.

The seven reef sites include the Eastern Dry Rocks, Looe Key Reef, Newfound Harbor, Sombrero Reef, Cheeca Rocks, Horseshoe Reef, and Carysfort Reef. They span the full geographic range of the region, characterized by habitat diversity and various human uses.

The project dubbed Mission: Iconic Reefs is one of the world's largest investments in reef restoration. By restoring the corals at these sites, experts attempt to change the trajectory of an entire ecosystem. Since corals grow slowly, the restoration project uses several phases to ensure that multiple corals and other reef species are restored over time.

First, conservationists will remove nuisance and invasive species that compete with the corals for space. Over the first seven to ten years, NOAA and its partners will outplant different coral species such as elkhorn staghorn, pillar, brain and star corals.

The next phase involves restoration, which aims to increase coral cover to an average of 25%. Throughout the phase, a team of professional and volunteer divers will work as reef "gardeners" who remove marine debris and reattach damaged or disconnected corals. Volunteers can also aid in removing invasive species and in long-term nursery and reef maintenance.

The team hopes that the restoration effort will be beneficial not only in the Florida Keys but also in other reefs around the world. As coral reefs are stressed by climate change and human use, the project serves as a model for all the coral communities in creating a significant impact on the future of coral reefs.