Florida’s Coral Reef is a more than 350-mile reef tract extending from the St. Lucie Inlet to the Dry Tortugas. It is the only near-shore stony coral reef tract in the continental United States and supports exceptional marine diversity, coastal protection, tourism, and fishing. At the same time, disease and extreme heat have placed substantial pressure on the system.
Contents
- How large Florida’s reef system is
- Species and reef structure
- Economic and coastal importance
- The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
- Disease and reef condition
- Bleaching and genetic diversity
- Coral rescue and monitoring
How large Florida’s reef system is
Florida’s Coral Reef is a long, near-shore reef system rather than a single isolated formation. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida measures its reach at more than 350 miles, from the St. Lucie Inlet in the north to the Dry Tortugas in the south. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary - Coral Reefs gives the same broad extent in the reverse direction, from the Dry Tortugas to the St. Lucie Inlet.
The northern extension between Biscayne National Park and the St. Lucie Inlet is about 105 miles long, according to the Florida DEP Strategic Plan 2020-2025. Southeast Florida’s reef habitat covers 200 square miles and spans more than 100 miles in length, according to the Our Florida Reefs Media Fact Sheet. These figures describe different portions and geographic definitions, so they should not be added together.
The reef began forming about 7,000 years ago after the last Ice Age, according to the Our Florida Reefs Media Fact Sheet. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary - Coral Reefs notes that corals generally grow only centimeters per year. Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef reports a range of roughly a half-inch to 7 inches of growth per year for individual hard-coral colonies. Those growth rates vary by coral and location, but both sources illustrate why reef-building is measured over long time periods.
Florida is the only state in the continental United States with extensive, shallow coral reef formations near its coast, according to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary - Coral Reefs. The Florida DEP Strategic Plan 2020-2025 describes the Florida Reef Tract as the state’s only tropical coral reef system and one of the greatest natural resources in Florida and the continental United States.
Species and reef structure
Florida’s reefs include barrier reefs, fringing reefs, and atolls, according to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida. NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary coral reefs page gives the same three formation types. Within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, North America’s only coral barrier reef is found, according to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary - Coral Reefs. NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary coral reefs page similarly describes the sanctuary as containing North America’s only coral barrier reef.
The number of coral species depends on the source’s definition and geographic scope. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida counts more than 40 reef-building coral species. NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary coral reefs page reports more than 40 reef-building coral species in the Keys, while Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef reports more than 45 species of stony corals along Florida’s Coral Reef. Florida DEP also reports 35 species of octocorals.
The broader marine community is larger still. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida lists more than 600 fish species and more than 600 invertebrate species associated with Florida’s reefs. Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef reports that the Florida Reef Tract supports more than 6,000 species of marine life. The Florida DEP Strategic Plan 2020-2025 also reports more than 6,000 species supported by Florida’s Coral Reef.
| Measure | Reported figure | Source and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Reef-building coral species | 40+ | U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida; NOAA, Keys |
| Stony coral species | 45+ | Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef |
| Octocoral species | 35 | Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef |
| Fish species | 600+ | U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida |
| Invertebrate species | 600+ | U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida |
| Marine-life species | 6,000+ | Florida DEP - Florida’s Coral Reef |
Florida’s corals are sensitive to clear water with low phosphate and nitrogen nutrient levels, according to NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary coral reefs page. That source also describes the reef as being built over thousands of years, a few centimeters at a time. NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary page says the sanctuary is jointly managed with the state of Florida.
Economic and coastal importance
Florida’s Coral Reef contributes $6.1 billion to the tourism industry, according to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida. The same source reports that recreation, education, and research supported 71,000 jobs in South Florida. It also estimates more than $355 million per year in flood-protection benefits to buildings and nearly $320 million in annual protected economic activity.
The Our Florida Reefs Media Fact Sheet reports $5.7 billion in annual sales and income associated with Southeast Florida’s reefs and 61,000 supported jobs. A study summarized in the Florida DEP Strategic Plan 2020-2025 found $6.3 billion in annual sales and income in Southeast Florida and the Florida Keys, with more than 71,000 jobs sustained annually. These estimates use different areas and study definitions, so they are best read as separate measurements rather than combined totals.
The coastal region adjacent to Florida’s Coral Reef contains roughly one-third of Florida’s 21.6 million residents, according to the Florida DEP Strategic Plan 2020-2025. That region attracts more than 30 million visitors each year. The reef also protects shorelines from tropical storms and erosion, according to the same plan.
Fishing is another quantified part of the reef economy. Total annual reef-fish landings in Southeast Florida averaged 4.8 million pounds from 1990 through 2000, according to the Our Florida Reefs Media Fact Sheet. Of those landings, 68% were recreational, 27% were commercial, and 5% were head-boat landings. Because this is a historical average for 1990-2000, it should not be treated as a current annual catch estimate.
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was designated on November 16, 1990, according to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary - The Sanctuary. The sanctuary protects 4,539 square miles of water. Its boundary begins at the mean high-water mark along the Keys and extends south of Miami and westward to the Dry Tortugas, excluding Dry Tortugas National Park.
NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary page also records the sanctuary’s establishment in 1990. The sanctuary’s coral-reef role is especially significant because it contains the only coral barrier reef in North America, according to NOAA Florida Keys sanctuary coral reefs page. The protected area is therefore a defined management geography within the much longer Florida Reef Tract, not a replacement for the tract’s full extent.
Disease and reef condition
The NOAA Coral reef condition status report covers the 2014-2018 period and was published in 2020. For its analysis, NOAA divided Florida’s Coral Reef into three sub-regions based on data resolution, geographical features, and ecosystem impacts. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida also describes three sub-regions in its account of the reef.
The disease outbreak discussed in the NOAA Coral reef condition status report was first reported off Miami-Dade County in 2014. By the report’s account, it had spread across almost the entire reef system except the Dry Tortugas. The disease affected roughly half of Florida’s 45 stony coral species and affected five species listed under the Endangered Species Act. By 2020, the report said susceptible species had undergone significant declines on impacted reefs.
The disease is identified as Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, or SCTLD. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida reports that SCTLD was first detected in Florida in 2014 and had affected more than 96,000 acres of Florida’s reefs, more than half of the total reef area. More than 20 of Florida’s 45 reef-building coral species had been affected in that summary.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Disturbance Response Monitoring program has operated since 2005. After SCTLD was observed in 2014, the FWC DRM program shifted toward detailed diseased-coral monitoring. The program tracks disease spread, disease severity, and the species affected. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida reports more than 100 research projects in Florida aimed at stopping the spread of coral disease.
Bleaching and genetic diversity
Heat stress adds a separate risk to disease impacts. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida reports that Florida’s 2023 bleaching event left only 37 of 160 elkhorn coral genotypes surviving. The same summary reports a 77% loss of genetic diversity among those elkhorn corals.
The figures describe surviving genotypes, not a percentage of all corals on Florida’s reef. They also refer specifically to elkhorn corals and to the 2023 bleaching event. That distinction matters when comparing bleaching results with the broader disease measurements reported for all or many stony coral species.
Coral rescue and monitoring
Florida’s coral rescue program was formed in late 2018, according to FWC Florida Coral Rescue. A U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - Florida summary reports approximately 2,500 rescued corals representing 20 species, collected from 200 reef sites and held through 25 land-based facilities across 14 states, with 29 partners involved. FWC Florida Coral Rescue later reports approximately 3,000 rescued corals of 20 species from more than 200 reef sites, held in 25 land-based facilities spanning 14 states.
These two rescue counts belong to different cited summaries and should not be added. Together, they show the scale of the program at the times represented by each source. FWC Florida Coral Rescue says the Coral Rescue and Propagation Team began operations in late 2018 with day trips and multi-day live-aboard cruises. One cited summary records seven multi-day cruises, while another reports that 102 colonies were collected from three reef sites in September 2018 and that up to 500 corals could be collected on a single multi-day cruise.
Propagation has also produced measurable milestones. FWC Florida Coral Rescue reports that 15 species had successfully spawned and propagated in captivity. The program aimed for 200 colonies per species and for maintaining 50 genotypes per species. These are program targets, not statements that every target had already been reached.
The FWC AZA Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project works with 20 AZA-accredited facilities in 14 states. The land-based network provides a separate conservation structure from the reef sites where corals were collected. In total, the rescue figures describe a program that connects field collection, off-site holding, captive propagation, and monitoring across multiple institutions.