DANIA BEACH, Fla. — In a 600-gallon tank overlooking Port Everglades, small pieces of brain coral and massive star coral grow serenely below the surface of the water. Although some of these pieces are the size of a quarter, all 2,376 fragments at this nursery could make a difference.
“These are what we call corals of opportunity,” said Kyle Pisano, the onshore coral nursery manager. “Corals that have been dislodged from the reef in some way, whether from anchors or storms or something else.”
They bring these corals of opportunity, which would otherwise die, to the nursery to try to grow more coral, in an effort to strengthen Florida’s struggling coral reef populations.
