TAMPA, Fla. — For the first time ever the Florida Aquarium in Tampa has successfully delivered coral grown in a laboratory to the Florida Keys.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
For decades, because of disease outbreaks corals in the Florida Keys have been destroyed.
Read: Man shot, killed by police officers after mother said he made suicidal threats, officials say
After being transported to an ocean-based nursery in the Florida Keys, scientists will continually monitor and further restore the reefs. Scientists are now studying the remaining population and declaring the species “functionally extinct.”
Read: Orlando VA offers new training, resources for country’s largest caregiver support system
This means that the coral would not grow naturally without the scientist’s intervention. The coral arrived at the as part of a first-of-its-kind rescue project enacted due to widespread disease.
The Florida Coral Rescue Project, led by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and NOAA Fisheries, has rescued over 2,300 corals across the United States.
Read: Shoppers rescue 2 kids from car fire while mother was shoplifting at Oviedo Mall, police say
“This kind of collaborative work is critical if we are to be successful in repopulating Florida’s Coral Reef with the species that once thrived here,” said Phanor Montoya Maya, Restoration Program Manager.
Click here for more : www.flaquarium.org
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group
