Sen. Marco Rubio urges NOAA to prepare for coral health emergencies in Florida
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio reiterated Tuesday that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should be prepared to respond to a coral health emergency in Florida.
“Florida’s coral barrier reef is an irreplaceable natural resource. The federal gov’t must be prepared to respond to coral health emergencies in Florida,” Rubio said.
In sounding the alarm, Rubio emphasized the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act, which included provisions that provide the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, with the tools needed to respond to coral reef health emergencies.
The act was first introduced by Rubio and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.
According to a release, corals in the Florida Reef Tract came under severe heat stress and experienced coral bleaching in the summer of 2023. The release further noted “Anomalous ocean temperatures may cause similar impacts this summer.”
In addition, it detailed coral bleaching in the Florida Reef Tract had been stressed due to the heat, causing the “crucial ecological resource” to continue to decline.
The release also noted the federal government’s authority to respond under emergency provisions of the Coral Reef Conservation Act, or CRCA.
Rubio, Scott, and Florida Democratic Rep. Darren Soto penned a letter to NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad urging him to finalize implementations of emergency provisions under the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act in response to possible coral health emergencies.
Other officials on the letter included Florida Republican Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Bill Posey, Carlos Gimenez, and Mike Waltz. They were joined by Florida Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Lois Frankel, and Kathy Castor.
“Florida’s coral barrier reef is an irreplaceable resource which must be preserved and protected. We ask that you be prepared to use the resources and authorities available to you should exigent circumstances arise,” the letter said.
