About Corals

The Florida Keys are a unique national treasure of international notoriety. The natural and cultural resources and environmental setting of the area make it among the most diverse in North America. Within the surrounding waters are resources deserving of special consideration and protection, including America’s only living barrier coral reef, patch reefs, hardbottom, vast seagrass meadows, fringed mangrove islands, and all of the rich marine life these marine communities support.

Reef-building corals grow in size by increasing the amount of carbonate calcium in their skeleton and adding new living tissue to cover the larger skeleton. Under ideal conditions, some species of coral form boulders which can be taller than an adult human. This process takes decades as boulder-type corals grow less than one centimeter per year. Thinner, branching corals grow as quickly as ten centimeters per year, but are easily broken in strong storms or as a result of human impact. The age of corals can be determined by examining coral growth rings, similar to counting rings in the trunk of a tree, or through the use of radioisotopes.

US Coral Reef Task Force

Coral reefs are some of the most valuable and spectacular places on earth. Covering less than 1% of the planet's surface, coral reefs and their associated mangrove, seagrass, and other habitats are the world's most biologically diverse marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are valuable assets providing food, jobs, protection from storms and billions of dollars in revenues each year to local communities and national economies. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) was established to lead the U.S. response to this growing, global environmental crisis

SeaSmart DiveSmart

While most dive operators include environmental preservation in their pre-dive briefings, at times there is a lack of consistency in the amount and accuracy of the information presented. The Sea Smart - Dive Smart program was developed as a way to provide the Keys’ commercial dive and snorkel industry with information and tools to help educate their customers about the responsible, eco-friendly use of our special marine resources. Central to this program is the theme "Responsible Diving & Snorkeling: From Head To Toe." This offers the dive professional a concise, easy-to-remember way of presenting the concepts of environmentally responsible diving to diverse groups of divers and snorkelers. Starting at the head and working down, dive masters can focus on knowledge and forethought (head), careful observance (eyes), buoyancy and equipment control (body), looking without touching (hands), and proper kicking techniques (feet).

Keeping Your Bottom off the Bottom

Many boaters do not realize that coral reefs and seagrass beds in the Florida Keys can be growing within inches of the water’s surface whether they are located close to shore or several miles from shore.

The following navigation tips are provided to make your boating experience easier and safer and to insure that others will be able to enjoy the same spectacular and irreplaceable marine communities.

Coral Reef Classroom

Coral Reef Classroom, a project of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, has provided free educational excursions to the reef for over 2,000 local students and teachers since 1991. Environmental stewardship is highlighted as students develop their own hypotheses about the condition of essential habitats, record and compare field observations, and discuss ecosystem management strategies.

Team Ocean

Team OCEAN is an on-the-water education and information program aimed at protecting the natural marine resources of the Florida Keys, while enriching the experiences of visitors to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It involves the stationing of trained volunteer teams at heavily visited reef sites throughout the Keys during peak recreational boating seasons in order to educate and inform other boaters about the unique nature of the coral reef habitat, share their knowledge of the best approach to certain areas, demonstrate the use of a mooring buoy, and give out various safety information.