Major Coral Restoration Milestone as 9,000 Coral Babies are Transferred to Reef Restoration Partners Across Florida

January 8, 2026

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Florida’s investment in coral reef restoration reached a major milestone as The Florida Aquarium successfully transferred 9,000 juvenile corals to restoration partners Reef Renewal USA and The Reef Institute. This marks one of the largest statewide deployments of land-grown coral babies under the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative.

The corals—born and raised at The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Research Center—are part of the state’s FCR3 Initiative, led by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The effort marks a critical step toward large-scale reef recovery and the long-term goal of restoring at least 25 percent of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050. The initial phase of the initiative focused on increasing infrastructure for coral breeding and raising coral offspring on land in addition to training a workforce to scale coral production for reef restoration.

“This moment shows what’s possible when long-term state investment, science, and collaboration come together,” said Keri O’Neil, Coral Conservation Program Director at The Florida Aquarium. “Coral reefs are vital to Florida’s economy, tourism, and marine life. These corals began as microscopic larvae here in Apollo Beach. Now, they’re on their way to our partners for further growth on land and, ultimately, Florida’s reefs—where they’ll help replenish coral populations that were heavily impacted by stony coral tissue loss disease. Thanks to the FCR3 Initiative, we now have a functional pipeline to scale coral breeding efforts and get these corals back to the reef.”

During the transfer, biologists carefully packed and transported corals from the 2024 and 2025 spawning seasons, including great star corals, boulder brain corals, symmetrical brain corals, and grooved brain corals.

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The Reef Institute received approximately 4,500 coral babies, which will continue growing at its new 23,000-square-foot land-based facility in West Palm Beach before being outplanted onto reefs in Palm Beach and Martin counties.

“This transfer represents years of preparation, innovation, and shared commitment,” said Leneita Fix, CEO and Executive Director of The Reef Institute. “Our facility—largely funded through FCR3—was built for moments like this, allowing us to scale coral recovery and give these corals the strongest possible start before returning them to the reef. Working alongside The Florida Aquarium and Reef Renewal USA allows us to move faster and restore the Florida reef together.”

Reef Renewal USA received its first group of corals in December and just received an additional 4,000 seven-month-old grooved brain corals produced during the 2025 spawning season. These corals will continue growing at the organization’s land-based coral production nursery in Ruskin before being outplanted onto reefs throughout the Florida Keys over the next year.

“Scaling restoration is essential to keeping pace with the challenges facing Florida’s reefs,” said Martha Campbell, Operations Manager at Reef Renewal USA. “FCR3 funding allows us to bridge the gap between coral spawning and reef restoration by growing corals to a size where they are more likely to survive and contribute to reef recovery. This partnership helps turn science into measurable, real-world impact.”

Building for the Future
Beyond coral production and deployment, the FCR3 grant also supports the development of a hands-on training curriculum and the design of a new classroom lab that will expand The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Research Center. Now in the design phase, the expansion will serve as a hub for training the next generation of coral scientists, restoration practitioners, and conservation professionals needed to restore Florida’s reefs for decades to come.

The FCR3 grant also supported The Reef Institute’s transition into a new facility that is more than seven times larger than its previous space. This expansion allows the organization to continue scaling larval settlement operations while advancing coral spawning efforts within the new facility, supporting the long-term goal of outplanting corals to restore reefs throughout Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

In addition, FCR3 funding has enabled Reef Renewal USA to significantly expand operations at its Ruskin facility, supporting the development of a large-scale coral growout system designed to raise sexually and asexually propagated baby corals to reef competent sizes before outplanting. The grant supports approximately 90,000 gallons of growout capacity, allowing Reef Renewal USA to increase survival rates, improve coral resilience, and prepare thousands of corals for successful deployment onto Florida’s reefs. This expanded infrastructure is a critical step toward scaling restoration to the pace and magnitude required to meet statewide reef recovery goals.