We are excited to join together with all of you, our Florida Keys community, for Mote’s 9th annual Ocean Fest on Saturday, April 13, in Key West! As the third-largest barrier coral reef on the planet, the Florida’s Reef Tract is invaluable. There is much to celebrate, and there is also a great deal of urgent information to share about our treasured coral reef and connected marine and costal ecosystems in the Florida Keys. The coral reefs of the Keys supports more than 70,000 jobs, fuel a greater than $6 billion economy and provide Mother Nature’s coastal resiliency from wave energy and storm impacts in our hurricane-prone region. As you read this, Mote Marine Laboratory scientists are responding to an unprecedented, multi-year outbreak of a new coral disease assaulting the last vestiges of a once-vibrant barrier reef ecosystem in the Florida Keys — stony coral tissue loss disease. From the rapid progression, widespread nature and high mortality rates of the disease, it’s clear that conservation efforts alone cannot solve this dilemma. Therefore, Mote is leading a bold paradigm-changing, sciencebased, coral disease response and restoration initiative to bring back to life a vibrant and self-perpetuating “rainforest of the sea,” starting now and continuing for the next decade. Mote, a Florida-based, independent, nonprofit, global marine research institution, has an innovative approach using coral restoration techniques that can ”re-skin” a dead, 100-year old coral skeleton in just two years with living tissue from native coral strains resilient to the impacts of disease, warming waters and ocean acidification. Our team has already planted more than 43,000 corals onto Florida’s reefs, and we plan on planting an additional 70,000 over the next few years. Our facility on Summerland Key, The Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration (IC2R3), is a stateof-the-art research facility complete with molecular and microbiology labs, two indoor wet labs, a land-based nursery growing thousands of coral fragments, and dedicated indoor and outdoor labs to mimic future scenarios of increasing ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. This facility is operated by an incredibly dedicated Mote science staff with five resident PhDlevel researchers and dozens of visiting scientists from around the world working together nearly around the clock to help scale up our research and restoration efforts.
In addition to the coral disease outbreak, 2018 proved to be a challenging year for our ocean overall; an unusually intense and prolonged red tide persisted along Southwest Florida, causing heartbreaking marinelife mortalities and significant impacts to Gulf Coast economies. In October, Mote, which has led innovative red tide research for decades, announced a major step toward realizing a vision for addressing Florida red tide: a generous philanthropic investment from The Andrew and Judith Economos Charitable Foundation to establish and support the first year’s operations for the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory. Between red tide, coral disease and numerous other challenges to a sustainably healthy ocean biome that Mote is addressing each day, we are more resolved than ever to achieve our mission, serving as a champion for our oceans through passion for science, innovation and partnerships with all who share our vision. The needs are great, but we are up for the challenge. Learn about all the ways you can help by visiting our booth during Ocean Fest, and visit mote.org for more information. Sincerely,
Dr. Michael P. Crosby President & CEO Mote Marine Lab
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2019 Mote’s Ocean Fest