Healthy ecosystems are invaluable to the businesses and economy of South Florida and the Florida Keys. Florida’s Coral Reef is the only bank barrier coral reef in the continental United States. It provides significant support to the foundation of the bustling Florida Keys marine economy, and attracts more than 5 million visitors each year. These visitors support 4.7 billion in spending and income generated annually in the Keys. Losing Florida Keys reefs would result in cascading effects to the region’s economy and culture that are firmly rooted in the health of the local marine ecosystem. 

Each component of the mission provides critical support to reaching the goal of improving the ecosystem function of the seven iconic Keys reefs. This will allow the reef systems can continue into the future, providing habitat for countless marine organisms, coastline protection, and supporting ample tourism opportunities. 

Identified by experts in 2019 for their biological and socioeconomic criteria and determined as restoration priority by the FKNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council, the seven Mission: Iconic Reefs are the in-water nursery sites of M:IR restoration partners which are supported by a NOAA-led monitoring and assessment team. They represent a range of geography, reef type, & human uses within FKNMS

NORTH & SOUTH CARYSFORT REEF
HORSESHOE REEF
CHEECA ROCKS
NEWFOUND HARBOR
EASTERN DRY ROCKS
SOMBRERO REEF
LOOE KEY REEF

Mission: Iconic Reefs is a massive undertaking that would not be possible without the commitment and collaboration of our many partners, in and outside of NOAA. A list can be found HERE.

Partners play a crucial role in Mission: Iconic Reefs. By working closely with world-renowned scientists, local restoration partners, other federal and state agencies, NOAA expands the network of action to put reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary on a path to recovery. Ocean and land-based restoration practitioners provide coral fragments for genetic diversity and resilience, in-water restoration work, monitoring; supporting partners develop new techniques and tools to ensure the best science guides decisions and incorporates relevant restoration research; and the interconnected resource management, stewardship, and governance bolster efforts towards success.

In the Florida Keys, the reef forms the foundation of the region’s identity, providing habitat for ecologically and economically important species and drawing visitors seeking to dive, snorkel, and fish. All of these benefits rely on healthy coral reef ecosystems that are currently challenged by pollution, climate change, coral disease, and more.

In response, Mission: Iconic Reefs is underway to change the trajectory of the health of seven iconic coral reefs in Florida. Restoration is key to making sure we actually have corals to rebuild our reefs and is crucial to building resilient coral reef ecosystems. As we continue to research the mechanisms for resilience to stressors, we can apply those discoveries through restoration.

A new SOCIOECONOMIC MONITORING PROGRAM is assessing the effects of coral restoration on reef users, human communities, and ecosystem services.

The Florida Keys have a long history of exploitation and impact. Many pressures on natural marine resources are chronic and, to some degree, cumulative, leading to a decline of the living reef that requires restoration. Today, pressures include:

• Vessel traffic
• Diving
• Commercial and recreational fishing
• Coastal development
• Pollution
• Harmful algal blooms
• Coral disease
• Marine debris
• Invasive species

Factors such as climate change, hurricanes, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification are also large-scale issues. Management to reduce impacts of local- and regional-scale stressors can increase ecosystem resilience.

MISSION: ICONIC REEFS is a NOAA-led, partner-driven effort that aims to restore structure, function, and resiliency to nearly three million square feet of Florida’s Coral Reef over the next two decades. It is a fundamental change and proactive approach to NOAA coral reef conservation initiated in 2019 to combat the decline of the region’s ecosystem that brings critical services to the nation, generates billions of dollars for the economy, and provides tens of thousands of jobs annually.

The sites were selected from a set of 37 reefs identified as high-priority sites for restoration by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. The council represents the broad range of sanctuary users and constituents. It provides recommendations to NOAA on management priorities and actions including ecosystem restoration. A group of coral reef scientists, restoration practitioners, and resource managers further refined this list of 37 sites to seven highest-priority sites. They used biological and socioeconomic criteria, including biodiversity and habitat composition, geographic distribution and connectivity to other habitat types, allowable and compatible human uses, and current enforcement and compliance activities.

Mission: Iconic Reefs is supported through many public and private funding streams. NOAA works with numerous partners, investors, and interested stakeholders and also bolsters it with grants.

Mission: Iconic Reefs is a NOAA-led, partner-driven restoration effort. It requires an adaptive management approach informed by advancements in restoration science, funding availability and the capacity of restoration practitioners and is executed in pieces by individual partners– management entities, resource trustees, restoration implementation partners, and core funders–  to support implementation.

The Restoration Blueprint addresses the comprehensive resource protection and resource management needs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, including support for ecosystem restoration of corals and other habitats. Mission: Iconic Reefs is designed to complement the Restoration Blueprint to put Florida Keys reefs on a path to recovery.  Per guidance from the community and the Sanctuary Advisory Council, the Restoration Blueprint created four small new Sanctuary Preservation Areas to protect existing coral restoration nurseries and restoration field trials from anchor damage.

Mission: Iconic Reefs utilizes a phased approach. Two coral species that (elkhorn coral; Acropora palmata, and staghorn coral; A. cervicornis) were the focus of the the first phase because 1) practitioners had devoted over a decade to improvements in propagation and outplanting of these species and were successfully able to outplant high numbers; 2) they were not susceptible to SCTLD; 3) they are the fastest growing corals and could contribute to a rapid increase in both living coral cover and high relief structures; and 4) this would allow time to test the susceptibility of genets of species to SCTLD and to develop novel techniques to scale up both production and outplanting.

Regionally, efforts are being made to address water quality impacts in the Florida Keys and the broader South Florida/Everglades ecosystem, which have contributed to the ongoing decline. Regional and local water quality improvements need to occur in parallel, for long term success and survivability of restoration efforts. Proactive coral restoration is still essential to begin rebuilding and re-establishing reproductively viable populations that can withstand environmental stressors. Mission: Iconic Reefs is involved in water quality tests at each of the seven sites to understand the relationship between carbonate chemistry and the success of coral outplants.

Six of the seven Mission: Iconic Reefs sites are within existing Sanctuary Preservation Areas, zoned to protect shallow reefs under the existing regulations and management plans. All seven of the sites have mooring buoys to prevent anchor damage from boaters.

During active restoration work, there may be temporary access changes such as the temporary removal of mooring buoys. This would allow for the work to be completed efficiently and safely. Mooring buoys would be returned when stewardship and maintenance activities start at the sites following active restoration work. Ample public notice is given if/when restrictions are needed. Community divers will be able to access our outplant and nursery sites through the Iconic Reef Guardians program, which will mobilize volunteers to help with coral husbandry.