South Florida Businesses Come Together to Help Local Marine Ecosystems
by Stella Alves
If you’re a beach lover, you’ve most likely heard of the race to save our ocean’s coral reefs. Critical for the survival of many marine species, reefs are often damaged by vessel groundings and anchoring, or are dying due to warm water temperatures, which leads to coral bleaching.
Luckily, No Shoes Reefs, a joint venture of ENGEL Coolers and No Shoes Nation here in South Florida, is partnering with Andrew “Red” Harris Foundation to help protect these ecosystems. Together, they have deployed 134 four-ton artificial reef modules that mimic natural reefs and 1,000 tons of boulders just offshore of the Jupiter Inlet. This is the largest project of its kind by a private foundation on Florida’s east coast. This $500,000 project has already dropped boulders on August 2nd and 5th, followed by artificial reefs on August 9th, 11th, and 13th.
“Anyone who lives in South Florida enjoys our magnificent waterways,” said Paul Kabalin, CEO of ENGEL Coolers. “Because ENGEL calls South Florida our home, we feel passionate about protecting our coral reefs, and creating new reefs, which are vital for so many marine species and for the protection of our shores.”
