22-03-2025
FWC launches ‘Coral Defender' to protect reefs in Florida Keys
FLORIDA KEYS, Fla. (WFLA) — A new biodegradable tool dubbed the 'Coral Defender' was launched this week in an effort to safeguard newly outplanted corals in Florida's waters.
The 'Coral Defender' is a 3-D printed tool made from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that protect corals from predation. The PHAs are naturally produced by bacteria through fermenting sugars or fats.
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Launched by The Florida Aquarium and Florida Fish and Wildlife, scientists will monitor the corals for the next year and a half. The pilot program aims to evaluate the 'Coral Defenders' ability to protect the corals from fish predation, how fast the material degrades in the ocean, and coral outplant survival over time.
Divers spent two days outplanting 660 young corals, raised at the aquarium, at four reef sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Half were placed among three species— grooved brain, symmetrical brain, and ridged cactus corals, to compare them to outplants without the defender tool.
'Our Coral Defender represents an evolution in coral restoration,' the project's leader and Research Scientist with the Coral Research Program at FWRI said. 'By providing a biodegradable, yet effective defense against predators, we're giving these corals a fighting chance to grow and thrive naturally.'
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