Florida’s Coral Reef: A Historically Undervalued Reef and the “Diving Capital of the World” are at Odds

If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing Florida’s Coral Reef, you are missing out. 

This ancient reef is vibrant and accessible, it’s the only near-shore coral reef in the continental U.S.

Florida has more than 350 miles of reef and provides over $650 million in flood protection benefits and economic activity protection. 

The total tourism value of Florida’s Coral Reef is estimated at $1.1 BILLION annually. Coral reefs are estimated to annually support 71,000 jobs in South Florida.  

My name is Alexa, and for over 20 years, I’ve been diving Florida’s Coral Reef. 

I’m a certified PADI Divemaster, and passionate about preserving our reef. I’m also a sustainability copywriter, and one of my clients, as part of Conscious Content Clips, is Friends of Our Florida Reefs.

So when I’m not diving, I’m writing about the ocean (and various other topics within sustainability I nerd out on). 

There’s so much to say about Florida’s Coral Reef, but I want to focus on something I don’t really hear others talking about. 

This interesting dichotomy we have in Florida, a famous area of reef you probably have heard of, versus the not-so-famous part that makes up 100+ miles of Florida’s Coral Reef, and is not talked about as much. 

The Diving Capital of the World

Key Largo is the self-proclaimed “diving capital of the world”, and that’s probably because of its proximity to the shallow water reef known as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

In Key Largo, you can access all sorts of dive sites, in warm water, might I add, anything from shallow natural reef dives to artificial wrecks, and deeper reefs and wrecks. 

The visibility in the keys is near optimal year-round, averaging 60-foot vis or 20 meters. 

Did I mention the water is warm, even in winter? That really depends on who you ask…. I’m not diving January-March in FL.

Plus, there’s a concentration of dive shops in the area, the History of Diving Museum, and the locals, as well as the businesses, have a strong relationship with conservation. 

There’s also John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, located in Key Largo, which is a perfect place for novice divers and seasoned divers alike. 

Okay, so they might have earned that title fair and square. 

Look, I’m not here to put down the Keys or Key Largo… I LOVE The Keys, and I got married to my forever dive buddy in Key Largo… so it’s pretty special to us!

The diving IS incredible, and the coral is (were) extensive.

It’s a beautiful area of the reef, and I’m so happy to see it getting a lot of love.

Devastatingly, in 2023, The Keys and primarily Key Largo, faced an extreme bleaching event due to a prolonged heat wave. 

NSU Newsroom reports that the heatwave led to 100 percent coral bleaching.

To put it plainly, this part of the reef, especially, is suffering. 

Thankfully, despite 100 percent bleaching rates, bleaching-related mortality of brain and boulder corals across the Florida Keys was minimal during the bleaching event. (NSU Newsroom)

However, in October 2025, two of the most iconic Florida reef-building corals, Elkhorn and Staghorn, were announced as being functionally extinct across Florida’s Coral Reef. 

Devastating news. 

From the Perry Institute: the loss of these branching species means more than coral mortality, it marks the loss of ecosystem function. Without them, Florida’s reefs can no longer buffer storms, support fisheries, or fuel coastal economies.

It’s utterly heartbreaking, probably because scientists didn’t predict we would cross this threshold this soon. 

Thankfully, coral restoration efforts are happening all over The Keys, South Florida, and beyond, hoping to restore this vital reef that so many marine animals and humans depend on.

There are scientists, professionals, and organizations across industries looking to save Florida’s Coral Reef and restore the damage in The Keys.

While this part of the reef suffered tremendously, I want to zoom out to another section of Florida’s Coral Reef that is also suffering, but not getting nearly the same amount of news coverage.

Kristin Jacobs Coral Aquatic Preserve 

Now THIS is the area of reef I’ve actually been diving most of my life. 

Just so we’re on the same page, I’m pretty much talking about what is now called the Kristin Jacobs Coral Aquatic Preserve (KJCAP), but definitely wasn’t called that when I started diving in 2024..

This is a 100+ mile stretch of reef that runs from the northern boundaries of Biscayne Bay National Park to St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County.

It’s a huge area of reef that was largely unnoticed by government agencies until a group of interested stakeholders (aka engaged citizens) came together to create a coalition called SEFCRI, ​​which gathered in May 2003 to focus on coral reefs and associated reef resources in the area that ultimately became KJCAP. 

And even then, it wasn’t recognized by the state until 2004, when the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) was established by DEP. 

I digress…

The Florida legislature established the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area on July 1, 2018, and it was later renamed the Kristin Jacobs Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area (Coral ECA) in 2021, honoring the tremendous support the late Representative provided to this area.

In 2024, it finally received aquatic preserve status, providing more protection than this area of reef has ever seen in recent decades.

It’s just wild to me that this part of the reef was not even managed or named for so long. 

The Keys National Marine Sanctuary was established in 1990, but what is now known as the Kristin Jacobs Aquatic Preserve was always part of the overall Florida reef tract (now called Florida’s Coral Reef). 

It blows my mind that, really, the main reason it became a protected and managed reef was because of the efforts of a small group of concerned citizens. 

These are the things I get stuck on, and why I find the juxtaposition between the “Diving Capital of the World” and this historically undervalued reef to be so stark.

Although this area of reef holds the coral aquatic preserve status, it doesn’t mean all is well now.

Florida’s Coral Reef Needs Our Attention

Despite all its beauty, economic value, cultural and spiritual significance, and all that Florida’s Coral Reef provides, it’s facing major threats and even extinction. 

The entire reef, from Dry Tortugas all the way through to St. Lucie inlet, is suffering. 

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) has been destroying our reefs since the 70s.

Climate change, water pollution, agricultural runoff, rising sea temperatures, overfishing, overdevelopment, dredging, reckless boaters, and many other human-related activities are harming coral reefs. 

We must demand more from our elected officials.

They are the ones permitting these corporations to do this. Commissioners, state representatives, state senators, not just our elected congresspeople. 

Our elected officials are taking money from developers and corporations/industries/monopolies like Big Sugar and approving these environmental disasters that are quickly turning into human rights violations due to the callous abandon for their constituents, who they’re supposed to be serving. 

The corruption goes all the way to the top, with Governor Ron DeSantis regularly golfing with FWC Commissioners, none of whom conveniently have a background in conservation, they’re actually all real estate developers.

But that’s a blog post for another day. 

There are already plenty of groups addressing these issues, like Hold the Line Miami, Miami Waterkeeper, Friends of Biscayne Bay, Friends of the Everglades, etc. 

Join one of these groups.

Attend public meetings about these issues.

Email and call your local elected officials. 

Post about this information online to share with others or talk to people in your life about what’s happening.

Because once it’s gone, we can’t get it back.

There’s a lot of restoration going on in Florida, but it’s to supplement what we still have.

Humans could never replace nature.

Let’s not find out the hard way.





Follow me on Instagram and YouTube as @gogreenwithalexa for more information about coral reefs, imperfect sustainability, and civic engagement while having fun!