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Last year, the $205 million Deep Dredge project at Port Miami was completed, yet environmentalists continue to fight for the damage that the project has done to the only barrier reef in the U.S.
The large-scale dredging was done to accommodate larger container ships at the port once the Panama Canal expansion opens in late June. By estimate, the ensuing boost to trade could pump about $7 billion into the region, the Miami Herald noted.
The New York Times recently reported that based on a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as much as 81 percent of the reef near the dredging site was already buried in sediment.
"In addition, an Army Corps of Engineers contractor report from August shows up to 93 percent partial
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coral death because of sediment, despite a plan by the Corps to minimize the damage," the report added.
Last year, American Fisheries Society said that the dredging meant to deepen the Port of Miami has damaged more coral than federal managers anticipated.
According to the Miami Herald, the Army Corps originally intended to move only threatened species from the project area. After environmental groups sued, the Corps agreed to transplant coral from 16.6 acres, but the groups say they were given short notice before dredging started, resulting in less
coral saved.
For more of the Nature World News story: www.natureworldnews.com
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