Thoughtless Boater Damages Florida Corals

Alice Grainger, a scientist with the Coral Restoration Foundation, a Florida Keys conservation group, has been rebuilding Pickles Reef on the ocean side of Key Largo by transplanting off-shore nursery-reared coral specimens since 2007. The coral survived hurricane Irma but has proved no match for the thoughtless humans who dropped anchor and dragged it over around 20 colonies of critically endangered elkhorn coral representing 100 square feet of reef late last year.

The damaged colonies were planted in 2014. Jessica Levy, restoration manager at CRF, said that anchor damage is not uncommon and remains a significant problem despite efforts by government agencies like NOAA. Pickles Reef has mooring balls for boaters, so there is no reason to drop anchor.