Marine conservation efforts advance in Florida and the United Kingdom

In Florida, scientists and volunteers are participating in the ‘Rescue a Reef’ program led by the University of Miami. The initiative involves planting young corals in reefs to study their ability to survive in warming ocean waters caused by climate change. Program coordinator Devon Ledbetter noted that certain species show higher resilience to thermal stress. This work follows a marine heatwave that caused the functional extinction of elkhorn and staghorn corals in Florida reefs.

In the United Kingdom, researchers from the University of Exeter have partnered with local recreational fishers to protect shark populations. The team successfully completed the first electronic tagging of a thresher shark in the English Channel and the Northeast Atlantic. The device will track movement and feeding patterns via satellite. This collaboration is part of the Natural England Species Recovery Programme, which aims to support over 350 threatened species through 2029.