DEP Awards $9.5 Million to Protect and Restore Florida’s Coral Reef

“Protecting and restoring Florida’s Coral Reef is vital to the state’s coastal resilience and economy,” said DEP Secretary Alexis A. Lambert. “This investment strengthens our ability to rebuild coral populations and safeguard these marine ecosystems for future generations.”  

Florida’s Coral Reef supports thousands of marine species and contributes $6.3 billion to the tourism industry, creating 71,000 jobs in South Florida through recreation, education and research.  

In 2023, Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 23-06, establishing the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative to improve resilience, ecosystem restoration and water quality. Led by DEP, the initiative is focused on developing the infrastructure, technology and workforce needed to support long-term reef recovery, with a goal of restoring at least 25% of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050. 

“The Governor’s Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative is a transformational program to reestablish the full benefits of a thriving Florida’s Coral Reef — a national ecological treasure, a state economic engine and Southeast Florida’s first line of flood protection,” said Wesley Brooks, Ph.D., Florida’s Chief Resilience Officer. “These awards will grow the infrastructure for sophisticated breeding and mass propagation efforts necessary to restore millions of resilient corals to our coastal waters and are a testament to the bold and visionary conservation leadership of Governor DeSantis and the Legislature.” 

Through Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative Grant Program, DEP is expanding coral restoration efforts in collaboration with in-state partners and propagating tens of thousands of resilient coral colonies each year. In its first two years, the initiative has awarded grants to outplant at least 2,000 corals annually, with partners such as the Florida Aquarium producing 20,000 new coral recruits each year.