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Sarah Finney, Sierra Norton, Beltsazzar Valenzuela, Brigham Hollingshaus

Professor Cris Longhurst
English 2010
29 September 2015
Under the surface of ocean, we have colorful,
beautiful, underwater gardens. Corals are
limestone formations that come in many shapes
and sizes, with shades of oranges, yellows,
purples and even greens. The corals are homes to
hundreds of different species, unfortunately these
beautiful underwater gardens are facing danger.
Figure 1 Photographed by Lan Trinh in 2012. Web accessed on 29
September 2016

At the age of 13 Ken Nedimyer

took his first dive in the Florida Keys, "It was just the most magical place I'd ever been to, and
the coral reefs were so pretty. So many fish and so many neat things to see." Nedimyer
commented to CNN. Nedimyer fell in love with the ocean, he earned his degree in zoology with
a marine biology emphasis. Afterwards Nedimyer took on the career of a fisherman and in 1985
he opened Sea Life Incorporated, a business focused on legally obtaining tropical fish.
His days we filled with ocean work, and he entire family joined him, he even said his 13year-old daughter was the best diver out there. In the mid-1980s something began troubling
Nedimyer, he noticed a severe trend in the Florida Keys. Some of the regions most important

species of corals were drastically declining in population. The Staghorn and Elkhorn corals were
in extreme danger.

Figure 2 Staghorn Coral [Left] Elkhorn Coral [Right]

These corals were slowly dying for many different reasons, such as; climate change, pollution
and overfishing in the reefs. Today these corals are still on the endangered species list. Florida
Keys home to Nedimyer is the most endangered reef, heavily threatened by these changes and is
the most used coral reef in the world. Today Nedimyer can be considered a world leader in
staghorn coral restoration.
His coral restoration effort was not necessarily intentional, Nedimyer noticed staghorn
corals growing on a rock clear back in 1996. Rather than selling the corals Nedimyer decided to
set the corals aside to let them grow. Before he knew it these corals had grown tremendous
amounts, but they also experienced a lot of damage due to animals such as sharks and turtles as
well as storms. The damaged caused a lot of pieces to break off, Nedimyers daughter decided to
take the pieces and use them for a project. Surprisingly the small pieces began to grow, and fast.
Within two years the pieces had turned into small bushes, they later transferred the bushes to a

site within the Florida Keys. So the corals made their new home on a ship that had sank over 20
years ago. We took six clippings just to see what would happen, and they all lived. Nedimyer
recalls in several interviews.
Now Nedimyer and several voluteers, collect small clippings from the bushes. Each
clipping is about the length of a fingertip. They then take the clippings and mount them to
pedestals. Nedimyer shared his knowledge with scientist and students around the world.
Nedimyer started the Coral Restoration
Foundation, which has grown more than 25,000
endangered corals in their nurseries. Nedimyer
and his team spend at least three days a week
maintaining the corals and monitoring more than
an acre of ocean floor.
Figure 3 Ken Nedimyer displays staghorn coral branches that
have grown from fragments of only a few centimeters in the line

nursery Photograph by CRF, Web accessed: 2 October 2016

Mr. Nedimyers nursery is currently the largest and widest nursery in the Caribbean. Its
approximately 10 times larger than any other recorded nursery.
Nedimyer has built a large community dedicated to bringing coral reefs back to their
thriving state. He continues to actively educate and raise awareness throughout the world. His
organization also partners with other groups including NOAA and the Nature Conservancy, plus
several other nonprofits. Not only that but he also spends a lot of time mentoring high school

students in his methods and even allows them to volunteer time in the nurseries. Nedimyer is
looking to grow and transplant 50,000 corals in the Keys, the largest effort of its kind.