The Florida Aquarium has broken ground on a new coral care complex at their conservation campus in Apollo Beach. The project, set for completion in May of 2023, will be an essential step toward expanding the Aquarium’s coral research and furthering its critical advancements in in coral reproduction and restoration.

“Here, we will be expanding our coral reproduction work and rearing thousands more coral offspring to be placed on the reef in the effort to restore threatened populations,” states Keri O’Neil, The Florida Aquarium’s senior scientist and coral conservation program manager.

(Photo credit: The Florida Aquarium)

The 4,200 sq. ft. facility will provide additional space beyond the Aquarium’s existing coral greenhouses and coral spawning laboratories. Overall, the facility will encompass 9,000 total sq. ft. of space dedicated to preserving, breeding and rearing corals that are rapidly declining along Florida’s Coral Reef.