With pristine reefs at stake, Cuba bets on coral nurseries – Gulf Today

With pristine reefs at stake, Cuba bets on coral nurseries – Gulf Today

Divers check a coral reef being raised for research by the National Aquarium of Cuba in Havana.. Cuba's corals have been somewhat shielded by the relative underdevelopment of its coastline, lower use of fertilizer and establishment of protected areas covering a quarter of all insular waters.. The Aquarium of Florida, which has extensive experience in coral cultivation, donated the infrastructure for Cuba's nursery and helped train its scientists, in return for the possibility of studying its reefs and scientific exchange.. "Cuba is like a living lab of resilient coral reefs, of the kind that have long disappeared from Florida," said Dan Whittle, who heads the Caribbean program at Environmental Defense Fund..