Updates on stony coral tissue loss disease from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation:

  1. A rescue mission this month collected approximately 350 select corals representing the genetic diversity that will be required for restoration of the Florida Reef Tract. A second mission is planned to start May 19
  2. Partners involved in Florida’s stony coral tissue loss disease response recently hosted a visiting team of scientists and coral reef managers from the U.S. Virgin Islands to discuss response efforts and lessons learned. The disease was first reported in the USVI in December.
  3. A webinar this week featured NOAA experts and the response coordinator discussing the current knowledge of stony coral tissue loss disease, Florida’s response to this disease outbreak, the status in the Caribbean, and current resources available.

 

And a reminder that citizens can participate in the response effort by:

  • Following proper dive etiquette and correctly decontaminating gear
  • Reporting conditions of treated and tagged corals
  • Using coral disease ID cards to accurate report diseased corals

 

All this information and more can be found at https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/coral-disease/.

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