Florida Aquarium Divers Work To Replenish Damaged Coral Reefs

By Tom Wagner

Tampa, FL - Experts estimate that up to 70-percent of the world’s coral reefs could be lost in the next four decades. Coral reefs account for a worldwide economic impact of $370-billion annually and roughly $250-billion could be extinguished in two generations. Ecologically, ¼ of all marine species find their homes in coral reefs. Remove 20-percent of marine life from our oceans and it is impossible to predict the implications.

Ilze Berzins, Vice President of Biological Operations at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, hopes to draw attention to the problem and bring aid to already damaged reefs.

“Whether you live in Florida and are an avid SCUBA diver or you live in a landlocked state and never visit the ocean, the impact of coral can be felt around the world,” said Berzins. “While corals cover less than 1-percent of the Earth’s surface they are home to one quarter of all marine life.”

The Global Coral Reef Institute (GCRI) at The Florida Aquarium is continuing to propagate corals in the wild using fragments grown in-land at the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory in Ruskin. The GCRI created the first health certificate in the world for corals. This allows teams of scientific divers to ‘plant’ cement discs with coral fragments on damaged reefs to promote new growth.

The process for seeding coral begins with a small fragment, rescued from an already living coral. The fragment (about the size of a cookie) is attached to a small cement disk and allowed to culture for about six months. The time allowed for culturing the fragment accomplishes several things.

“First, the fragment grows over where it was cut, and that increases its chance of survival,” said Craig Watson, director of the Tropical Aquaculture Lab. “Secondly, we can accurately determine their general health – if they are doing well after six months they should be healthy enough to plant in the open water. And finally, the time in culture serves as a quarantine period so that any potentially disruptive illnesses can be addressed before placing the fragments among other living coral.”

Who: The Florida Aquarium’s team of scientific SCUBA divers

What: Propagating corals through a demanding and challenging process involving dozens of hours spent underwater ‘planting’ cement discs on a damaged reef.

When: Thursday, Jan. 23 through Tuesday, Jan. 27

Where: Key West, Florida – Western Sambo Reef