Florida Coral Reef Conservation Grants is sponsored by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Coral Protection and Restoration Program | Florida Department of Environmental Protection Coral Protection and Restoration Program Coral Protection and Restoration Quick links Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Response All Coral Protection and Restoration content Scroll for More Quick Links The Coral Protection and Restoration Program (CPR) was established in 2020 to support the holistic management of Florida’s Coral Reef.

The future of Florida's Coral Reef faces challenges from factors like disease, pollution, water quality issues, rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. While coral reefs worldwide, including Florida's, have seen significant changes in recent decades, there is still hope for recovery and resilience through continued conservation efforts and action.

Through state lead initiatives and improvement projects, Florida is leading the way in coral reef restoration, coral and water quality research and enhanced monitoring efforts.

The CPR Program is addressing these threats by guiding national coral reef policy through participation in the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, providing leadership for coral reef initiatives in the state and by effectively administering state funding for Florida’s Coral Reef priorities. Since 2017, the CPR Program has administered more than $90 million, including the recurring $20 million Biscayne Bay Water Quality Improvement Grant .

This funding allows the CPR Program to support universities, agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in priority projects like water quality sampling, nutrient reduction, stony coral tissue loss disease research, intervention, coral rescue, coral propagation and restoration actions. The CPR Program also leads implementation of the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative.

The FCR3 Initiative aims to develop the infrastructure, technology, skilled workforce and logistics necessary by 2050 to support the long-term recovery of no less than 25% of Florida’s Coral Reef!

Through facilitating an unprecedented, evidence-based propagation and outplanting program conducted by the state and its partners, Florida’s Coral Reef will be restocked with hardy populations of native corals and other keystone species to re-establish and strengthen natural reproduction, dispersal and recruitment patterns.

Through strategic design and siting of restation projects, the FCR3 Initiative will prioritize enhancing flood protection and strengthening Florida’s coastal economy. Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) is holistically protected and restored ensuring resilient coral reef ecosystem functions and services.

Funding Administration : Through the administration of state and federal funding, CPR implements coral reef management and research priorities, leveraging research partner capacity to support reef protection and recovery objectives.

Holistic Management of Florida’s Coral Reef : CPR uses science-based decision making to guide holistic coral reef ecosystem management and policy, contributing to the management of Florida’s Coral Reef as a holistic system.

CPR provides leadership for the FCRRP, supports strengthened governance by synthesizing and communicating research to inform elected officials and decision-makers about the importance of, and threats to, coral reefs, and works with local, state and federal regulatory agencies to improve coordination and compliance on cross-jurisdictional coral reef issues, with a focus on ecosystem restoration and water quality.

Protect and Restore Florida’s Coral Reef : CPR supports the development and implementation of state restoration priorities and the FCR3 Initiative through planning and data management, coral husbandry capacity and infrastructure expansion and research of restoration practices to optimize coral reproductive success, genetic diversity and resilience.

CPR also supports the enhancement of water quality through the reduction of chronic, regional stressors from land-based sources of pollution. Coordination and Information Sharing: Participating in regular coral reef-related meetings to ensure efficient information sharing, CPR provides consistent Florida’s Coral Reef branding and maintains key stakeholder partnerships.

Annually, CPR aligns management, research, and Florida’s Coral Reef priorities with local, state and federal partners. When appropriate, CPR represents Florida at federal and international coral reef meetings. CPR also promotes programmatic and Florida’s Coral Reef messaging to partners and the public to ensure accurate and timely messaging of coral reef issues.

CPR capacity is aided through a partnership with Florida Sea Grant, who hosts multiple contracted positions. DEP Coral Disease Project Reports FLORIDA'S CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES In recognition of the ecological and economic importance of Florida’s Coral Reef, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 23-06 in 2023 establishing Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative.

To support this initiative and other state coral management efforts, the following priorities were identified as areas of focus: coral reef resilience, ecosystem restoration and water quality. Enhancing Florida's Coral Reef Resilience Florida’s Coral Reef has experienced challenges in coral populations since the 1970s, influenced by a mix of global, regional and local factors.

These include elevated ocean temperatures leading to more frequent coral bleaching events, coral disease, water quality issues linked to land-based pollution and other natural and human impacts. Most recently, a coral disease outbreak (SCTLD) has affected more than half of Florida’s 45 species of reef-building corals.

However, through management plans, infrastructure improvements and focused research, DEP is actively funding and working toward solutions to reduce these stressors. To ensure the recovery of this invaluable natural resource, it’s essential to address the complex stressors while also developing and applying intervention and restoration methods for critical reef species.

Both approaches are needed for the long-term health of Florida’s Coral Reef. Over the 240 million years corals have existed, they’ve shown remarkable resilience to changing environmental conditions — given time and support. With proper resources and targeted conservation efforts, we will continue to strategically recover and strengthen the resilience of Florida’s Coral Reef.

For more information on Florida’s Coral Reef Resilience Program (FCRRP), visit the FCRRP website. Restoring Florida's Coral Reef Ecosystem In the early 2000s, Florida’s Coral Reef restoration community began outplanting corals to support the recovery of coral cover that had declined over the previous decades.

To enhance coordination and strengthen efforts to restore reef-building corals, an ecosystem-wide Restoration Strategy was collaboratively developed by reef managers and restoration practitioners.

Published in 2024, this first-of-its-kind strategy helps guide state investment and coordinate restoration efforts by using long-term coral monitoring data with state-of-the-art coral larval connectivity modeling to identify key areas for restoration that would contribute to natural coral recruitment and long-term ecosystem recovery.

Growing the number of corals needed to ensure the success of these key areas is an exciting challenge and Florida’s restoration industry is poised to expand in both size and capacity. Funding through the FCR3 Initiative will help enhance coral propagation infrastructure and workforce capabilities across Florida’s Coral Reef, supporting the restoration of resilient populations of native corals and other vital species.

The FCR3 Initiative will also focus on strategically designing and locating restoration efforts to significantly improve flood protection and strengthen the coastal economies of southeast Florida. Please visit the Protecting Florida Together Grants webpage for more information on the FCR3 Grant Program.

Assessing and Addressing Water Quality Impacts to Florida’s Coral Reef Water Quality is a key factor in ensuring coral reefs thrive in Florida. Corals are very particular about their surroundings. They thrive in a specific balance of temperature and nutrients and are sensitive to pollution, including chemicals, gasoline and pharmaceuticals, making them vulnerable to water that is either too hot or too cold.

In South Florida, this means that water quality is a top priority for coral reefs and DEP is working diligently with partners to address it. Please visit the Protecting Florida Together Grants webpage for more information on the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program.

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