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Conserving Florida’s Coral Reef

With your help, we can rescue and restore Florida’s Coral Reef and share the wonders of our waters with generations to come.

image Coral Restoration Foundation

Discover Florida’s hidden treasure

Florida’s Coral Reef stretches almost 350 miles from the Dry Tortugas to the St. Lucie Inlet. It’s the only coral reef system in the continental United States and is home to over 40 species of reef-building corals that provide shelter, food and breeding sites for millions of plants and animals.

DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK KEY WEST FLORIDA KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY JOHN PENNEKAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK BISCAYNE BAY AQUATIC PRESERVES MIAMI FORT LAUDERDALE KRISTIN JACOBS CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION AREA WEST PALM BEACH ST. LUCIE INLET MARTIN COUNTY

Recent News

Florida’s Coral Reef is an incredible natural resource that protects our coastline and supports the economy, providing opportunities for recreation, education and medical research.

Experience the Reef

See the Coral City Camera live from the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve brought to you by Coral Morphologic or dive in and explore Florida’s Coral Reef in 360°

Recreation

Florida’s Coral Reef offers numerous, awe-inspiring opportunities for responsible diving, boating and fishing.

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Tourism

Florida’s Coral Reef and surrounding waters are a breathtaking recreational destination that drive the economy of south Florida.

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Outboard motorboat

Coastal Protection

Florida’s Coral Reef is a natural buffer for Florida’s shoreline, protecting human life and property by lessening the eroding power of waves. Coral reefs dissipate 97% of wave energy that would otherwise erode beaches.

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Crashing waves

Seafood

Florida’s Coral Reef provides a home to hundreds of species of finfish and shellfish, which are a source of seafood for homes, restaurants and our grocery stores.

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Biomedical Research

Drugs developed from coral reef organisms are already on the market to combat caner, pain and inflammation.

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The future of Florida’s Coral Reef is being threatened

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, pollution, warming ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and many other threats contribute to reef degradation.

Coral Bleaching When corals are stressed by changes in their conditions, they expel the colorful algae living in their translucent tissues, called zooxanthellae, showing their white skeleton and giving a bleached appearance.

Without continued bold and aggressive action, we may lose critical functions and benefits of the reefs.

image Coral Restoration Foundation
image Coral Restoration Foundation

But there is hope

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and its partners are working daily to support the reefs’ natural recovery processes through the large-scale cultivation, outplanting and monitoring of genetically diverse, reef-building corals.

Did you know?

Learn about how our partners are making a difference with Florida’s Coral Reef.

View all our partners
View all our partners