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King crab preservation project at Mote Marine
Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota is working to stop the impacts of coral bleaching from going any further with the breeding of king crabs.
SARASOTA, Fla. - At Mote Marine Laboratory Aquaculture Research Park, Caribbean King Crabs are spawning.
"It’s a real game changer with coral restoration," said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, the CEO and President of Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.
While they’re small right now, they’re being bred for a mighty job.
"That’s the importance of this crab hatchery because the Caribbean King Crab is an essential grazer that eats that macroalgae. It eats the algae, keeping the coral reef clean. So the new recruits can settle and the macroalgae doesn’t overgrow on the existing coral," said Dr. Crosby.
For decades, Mote Marine has worked on coral restoration.
READ: Can a scientific 'Noah's Ark' save Florida's coral reef from threatening warm waters?
It’s become even more vital as record-high water temperatures increase coral bleaching.
"The nearly catastrophic heat wave that we’ve been experiencing on the reef underscores the need for these holistic non-coral interventions to be added to our tool belt," said Dr.Jason Spadaro, the Coral Reef Restoration program manager.
Mote aims to have around 300 to 400 adult crabs producing 250 thousand juvenile Caribbean King Crabs annually.
They will eventually be released along seven iconic Florida reef sites.
"Over 10 years will give us a total of more than two million crabs, which is what we think we need to reach our goals for grazing intensity," said Dr. Spadaro.
A four-year, $7 million grant from NOAA helped form the Florida Coral Reef Restoration Crab Hatchery Research Center.
"To have challenges where we are losing coral and coral is bleaching and all of the things that are going on, the research that is going on here can impact Australia, all over the world," said Congressman Greg Steube.
It all starts in Sarasota.
"For Mote, this is another giant step forward, I think, in our ability to have a much more holistic approach to restoring critical ocean habitats so that they will be here for our children and our grandchildren," said Dr. Crosby.