Molasses Coral Reef Restoration Project

On August 4, 1984, the M/V Wellwood, a 122-meter Cypriot-registered freighter, ran aground on Molasses Reef about 6 nautical miles southeast of Key Largo in Monroe County, Florida. The Molasses Coral Reef Restoration Project, implemented by NOAA, involved the restoration of fourteen separate reef sites damaged during the 1984 incident. The restoration included the placement of twenty-two dome shaped reef modules made of concrete and limestone that were designed to replicate the spur and groove formation of the grounding site and to provide substrate for new coral colonization. The reef restoration modules withstood winter storms and enhanced total species richness at the site.