Stimulus funds will expand coral nurseries

From a news release issued by The Nature Conservancy:

SUGAR LOAF KEY, FLORIDA — June 30, 2009 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that The Nature Conservancy and its partners’ staghorn and elkhorn coral recovery project will receive support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which will fund all or part of 57 positions needed to develop large-scale, in-water coral nurseries and restore reefs along Florida’s southern coast and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Watch video of scientists and volunteer divers cultivate threatened staghorn coral at nurseries offshore as part of a Nature Conservancy project to increase the population of healthy, resilient corals throughout the Caribbean.

The Nature Conservancy will serve as coordinator of the overall project and a range of project partners, including the Coral Restoration Foundation, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Nautical Farms will conduct most of the hands-on nursery and restoration work. Government natural resource managers from NOAA, the National Park Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources and Broward County will be involved in permitting and oversight of the project.

“We are thrilled to be a recipient of economic stimulus funds for this project, which will create jobs and help restore one of Florida’s greatest natural assets,” said James Byrne, The Nature Conservancy’s marine science program manager for Florida and the Caribbean. “To conduct restoration of coral on this scale is unprecedented. Coral reefs are one of the main attractions for tourism in south Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fish that rely on reefs for habitat feed millions of people worldwide and provide income for thousands of people in Florida and the Virgin Islands.”

The project will expand four existing coral nurseries and establish two new nurseries in waters off the coast of south Florida and two new nurseries in waters surrounding the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the next three years, the project will grow roughly 12,000 corals in Florida to enhance coral populations at 34 degraded reefs from the Dry Tortugas through Broward County. Nursery and restoration efforts are expected to extend beyond the three-year grant period.