FCR3

The Coral Protection and Restoration (CPR) Program conducted a site visit to The Reef Institute in West Palm Beach. The visit allowed the team to see firsthand the extensive improvements that this key coral restoration partner has made their facility over the past year through support from the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative grant program. Funding to The Reef Institute has been used for the construction of critical infrastructure, namely tanks and associated life support systems, to triple their previous capacity for growing corals. Leneita Fix, Executive Director and CEO of The Reef Institute, showed the team around the facility, including new tanks in the holding, settlement and grow out, quarantine, and chemistry lab. The site visit also presented the opportunity for CPR Program to see the layout of the facility, including conference rooms and events space, in preparation for an upcoming meeting of FCR3 Initiative partners to be hosted by The Reef Institute this month. The FCR3 Initiative is a DEP-led effort to develop the infrastructure, technology, skilled workforce, and logistics necessary to restore up to 25% of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050.