reefs

A Florida county is in talks to acquire a storied but aging ocean liner in a proposed deal that could create the largest artificial reef in the world. But the plan hit a snag Tuesday, after local officials in coastal Okaloosa County in the Florida panhandle postponed a vote on the plan to buy and purposefully sink the SS United States.

Scientists working to save Florida’s ailing reef hope Caribbean coral thriving in hotter water could bring some relief.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced more investments into Florida’s artificial reefs and an extra day added to the spiny lobster mini season this year – exclusively for Florida residents.

Coral rescued off the Florida reef ahead of an outbreak of lethal stony coral disease and stashed in aquariums and zoos are growing and making babies.

The preserve was adopted in 2015 under a new management plan but faced criticism from state officials who co-managed fishing rules in the park.

The 18-by-12-foot reef will be installed near the coast around St. Thomas and is expected to be completed by July.

To protect coastal bases, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has enlisted corals, oysters and three international teams of scientists to develop “hybrid reefs,” to break up damaging waves.

Hurricane Ian not only ravaged southwest Florida on land but was destructive underwater as well. It destroyed man-made reefs and brought along red tide, the harmful algae blooms that kill fish and birds, according to marine researchers.

While higher water temperatures led to a coral bleaching event in some areas in March, the temperatures did not climb high enough to kill the coral, according to the Australian government.

The 20th anniversary of the storied intentional sinking of a former Naval ship to become an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is being celebrated Tuesday in Key Largo.

A research institute at the University of Miami that has tackled climate change, hurricanes and sick reefs is getting up to $310 million from the National…

On a vast, wind-battered bank wedged between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas, scientists studying the troubling decline of queen conchs have discovered some…