Divers Relocate Delicate Corals to Cooler, Deeper Water in the Keys

(Key Largo, Fla.) - Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary scientists are relocating delicate corals into deeper, cooler water to keep them alive.

Due to warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures, some coral in the Middle and Lower Keys began bleaching in late July. Bleaching is a stress response to warmer water.

Marine scientists including Reef Renewal’s Ken Nedimyer, an internationally acclaimed coral restoration pioneer, say that bleaching doesn’t mean all coral in the Florida Keys is dead.

“You hear a lot of stories that the reefs are 100 percent dead or that they’re all bleached and dying, and that’s not the case,” Nedimyer said. “We’ve been diving a lot in the Upper Keys and some of the offshore reefs are fine."

"Not all corals are bleached and not all corals are going to die,” he added.

Batches of elkhorn, staghorn, boulder and brain coral are all being relocated. Officials expect the project to be completed by the end of next week.