Mote Marine Laboratory has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to seed 130 acres of Florida reefs with resilient varieties that can better withstand disease and climate change. Mote’s grant is one of 35 grants totaling $28.9 million awarded by the Coastal Resilience Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA, with support from Shell Oil and TransRe. Funds were granted under the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act, Title IX. Matching contributions of $38.3 million create a total $67.2 million conservation effort.

Mote will use its grant to implement the Florida Keys Coral Disease Response & Restoration Initiative, which is geared toward mitigating threats to coral reefs such as coral tissue-loss disease. Mote will establish a clean room laboratory for coral disease research, establish a living coral gene bank, study coral genetic diversity and seed genetically-resilient species along the Florida coast.

Read more about the project: MoteMarine Laboratory & Aquarium