The coral reefs around the Florida Keys are losing their color early this summer because of record-high water temperatures
This photo provided by the University of Miami Coral Reef Futures Lab, shows fire coral and staghorn corals with bleaching, tissue loss, and recent mortality on Thursday, July 20, 2023, in the North Dry Rocks Reef off the coast of Key Largo, Fla. Some Florida Keys corals are losing their color weeks earlier in the summer than has been documented before, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
Surface temperatures around the Keys have been averaging about 91 degrees , well above the normal mid-July average of 85 degrees , said Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program. Previous Alert Level 2s were reached in August, she said. “We are at least a month ahead of time, if not two months,” Bruckner said."We’re not yet at the point where we are seeing any mortality ... from bleaching. It is still a minor number that are completely white, certain species, but it is much sooner than we expected."
Both scientists said it is not “all doom and gloom.” A 20-year, large-scale effort is underway to rebuild Florida's coral back to about 90% of where it was 50 years ago. Bruckner said scientists are breeding corals that can better withstand the heat and are using simple things like shade covers and underwater fans to cool the water to help them survive.
Spadaro and others who have visited the corals said they have noticed the coral bleaching is worse in the lower Keys than in the more northern parts of the area. The Keys have experienced bad bleaching years in the past, but this year it is “really aggressive and it's really persistent,” he said.
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