Reconnaissance
dive.
Reef Relief divers visited Rock Key reef for the first time since the Ground Hog Day Storm. There was substantial damage to Elkhorn coral colonies in the shallow palmata zone that was documented on 35mm slide film (see next page). The chances for survival of fragmented pieces of Elkhorn coral are greatly diminished when exposed to sediment or sand. Moving the corals out of the sand to an area of hard bottom increases the survival rate of the fragmented corals . The February gale was followed by a series of smaller storms prohibiting any diving from being carried out on the reef. A permit to stabilize a limited number of coral fragments was issued to Reef Relief by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. A design for the coral stabilization bases (the ‘Hudson Acropora Rosette’) was developed by Harold Hudson of the FKNMS. The approval of this nursery project was based on the premise that after Reef Relief stabilized the coral onto the ‘Hudson Acropora Rosettes’, FKNMS staff would position them in a grounding site where Elkhorn coral had been lost. This was to take place sometime during the summer of ‘98’. Reef Relief used large stainless steel pins to temporarily secure the Rosettes to the ocean floor which allowed them to be removed for transferal to the grounding site.
© 1999 Reef Relief--All Rights Reserved.
