Coral reefs along the Florida coastline are struggling. Disease has been running rampant among colonies in recent years, and now researchers have found that a billion-dollar dredging project that wrapped up in 2015 killed off more than half of the coral population in the Port of Miami.
A study published May 24 in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin estimated that over half a million corals were killed in the two years following the PortMiami Deep Dredge project.
Dredging is the practice of removing silt and sediment from a canal or riverbed. Material can build up over time, making it hard for ships to pass. And in ports like Miami, a major hub for overseas cargo, shallow canals just won’t cut it for big ships. This latest project aimed to open up the port to the world’s largest container vessels.
Marine biologist and study author Rachel Silverstein was in Miami while ...
