Every day, thousands of people (locals and tourists alike) head to Florida’s waters to escape the ordinary. They rent boats or dive gear, hoping to catch their limit of lobster, land a brightly colored mahi-mahi, or glimpse dolphins leaping through the waves. Few realize the critical ecosystems that make these experiences possible: Florida’s Coral Reef. Beneath the surface lies a complex and vibrant underwater world that has been evolving for millennia, providing habitat, food, and protection for countless marine species and underpinning the economy of coastal communities.
Photo credit – Shane Wever
Florida’s Underwater Cities
Coral reefs are ocean cities, built over thousands of years through the slow, careful work of scleractinian corals. These “hard” or “stony” corals are relatives of jellyfish, often mistaken for lifeless rocks by casual observers. Yet each colony is a bustling ecosystem. Tiny polyps secrete calcium carbonate skeletons that accumulate over generations, forming the foundation of the reef. This living infrastructure provides shelter for thousands of species of fish and invertebrates, drives nutrient cycling, and even protects coastlines during hurricanes.
The complexity of these reefs is staggering. A single square meter can house dozens of species, each occupying its own niche. Predatory fish hunt, herbivorous species graze on algae, and corals themselves compete for light and space—all in a delicate balance shaped by the environment. This intricate web of interactions is what makes reefs both resilient and vulnerable.
Photo credit – Mike Echevarria
Challenges Facing Florida’s Reefs
Over the past several decades, Florida’s reefs have faced unprecedented stress. Warming ocean temperatures have caused widespread bleaching events, while diseases like stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have decimated populations of key reef-building species. Declining water quality from coastal runoff and human development further exacerbates these challenges, and storms physically damage reef structures. The combined impact has reduced coral abundance and structural complexity, weakening the function of reefs.
Yet these reefs are not lost. Some corals demonstrate remarkable persistence, surviving through heat stress, disease, and other challenges. These survivors are the focus of restoration efforts, offering hope for the future of Florida’s reefs.
Photo credit – Shane Wever
Enter Reef Renewal USA
Reef Renewal USA (RRUSA) is at the forefront of coral restoration, combining scientific knowledge, innovative technology, and hands-on conservation to restore degraded reefs with climate resilient corals of the future. Founded by Mike Echevarria and Ken Nedimyer, who witnessed the decades-long decline of reefs in the Florida Keys firsthand, RRUSA works to identify the most sustainable, efficient, and effective methods to propagate and outplant resilient corals.
The organization focuses on species that have experienced significant population declines, such as staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn (Acropora palmata), as well as other species like boulder and star corals that show potential for resilience under changing ocean conditions. By carefully selecting genetically diverse and robust individuals from the wild, RRUSA cultivates corals in nurseries before returning them to the reef.
Photo credit – Shane Wever
Ocean-Based Nurseries: The Core of Restoration
At the heart of RRUSA’s restoration program are ocean-based nurseries. A network of six coral nursery sites spans from Carysfort Reef in the upper Florida Keys to Looe Key in the Lower Keys. Suspended in mid-water, these nurseries expose corals to natural light, temperature variability, currents, and microbial communities—conditions that closely replicate their eventual reef habitats.
These nurseries are more than just production sites. They are living laboratories, allowing practitioners to monitor growth rates, disease resistance, and overall health of different coral species. By tracking performance under real ocean conditions, RRUSA can identify which corals are most likely to survive the challenges of life on reefs in the future. Over time, these nurseries have evolved to support a more diverse assemblage of coral species, moving beyond the fast-growing acroporids that dominated early restoration efforts.
Photo credit – Shane Wever
Photo credit – Meg Kiley
Land-Based Systems: Scaling Up
Complementing ocean-based nurseries, RRUSA has expanded into land-based coral production systems. In 2024, the organization launched a state-of-the-art aquaculture facility in Ruskin, Florida, designed to support controlled coral growth, research, and genetic preservation.
This facility acts as a living gene bank, safeguarding corals from future bleaching and disease events. It also allows selective testing of thermal tolerance, disease resistance, and other traits, helping practitioners identify which genetically unique individuals are most likely to thrive in a changing ocean. Additionally, the facility enables large-scale coral production, with the potential to grow over 125,000 corals annually—a critical step in scaling restoration to make a meaningful ecological impact.
By integrating ocean-based and land-based nurseries, RRUSA can combine the benefits of real-world exposure with controlled experimental settings, refining restoration strategies and improving the likelihood that our corals will survive on reefs in the future.
Photo credit – Shane Wever
From Nursery to Reef: Outplanting
Returning corals to the reef at scale is one of the most challenging aspects of restoration. Thousands of corals must be transported, monitored, and planted, all while minimizing stress and maximizing survival. Effective restoration requires careful planning, precise monitoring, and detailed data collection. Depth, temperature, dive logistics, and environmental conditions are all critical factors for success.
Here, technology plays a key role and in 2025, Reef Renewal USA’s divers began using Shearwater Tern dive computers to monitor depth, temperature, and dive time in real-time. These low-profile devices allow the RRUSA team to collect critical data effortlessly while tending nurseries and outplanting corals. By the end of each day, thousands of corals can be planted, and all operational and environmental data are automatically captured, ensuring that each restoration effort contributes to a growing body of knowledge.
Photo credit – Meg Kiley
Partnerships That Make Restoration Possible
The partnership between RRUSA and Shearwater has been critical to expanding the impact of our coral restoration work. By using the Shearwater Tern dive computer, RRUSA dive teams are able to seamlessly collect crucial operational and environmental data during every dive, helping the organization track field logistics, optimize restoration methods, and scale impact across reefs in the Florida Keys. This reliable technology supports safe and efficient fieldwork, enabling practitioners to focus on what matters most: restoring resilient corals back to the reef.
Through this collaboration, RRUSA is not only restoring corals but also building a framework for future-focused reef management. By combining field-based experience with innovation, technology, and rigorous data collection, the organization is setting new standards for coral restoration in Florida and beyond.
Photo credit – Mike Echevarria
Looking Ahead
Florida’s reefs face a rapidly changing ocean, but organizations like Reef Renewal USA demonstrate that thoughtful, science-driven restoration can make a difference. By integrating ocean-based and land-based nurseries, leveraging modern technology, and fostering strong partnerships, like our collaboration with Shearwater, RRUSA is cultivating the corals and knowledge needed to restore reef ecosystems at meaningful scale.
For divers, researchers, and reef lovers alike, these efforts are a reminder that every coral counts. By working together, we can help renew reefs for future generations in this rapidly changing world!
Photo credit – Shane Wever
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Shane Wever is a marine biologist, coral restoration practitioner, and storyteller dedicated to ocean conservation. He has spent the last decade documenting reef health and planting corals throughout the Caribbean, blending science, field innovation, and visual storytelling to support large-scale coral restoration with Reef Renewal USA.
