ORA (Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums): Benefits to the Marine Hobby and Reefs

ORA which stands for Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums is an ornamental hatchery located at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Ft. Pierce Florida and is the largest of its kind in North America. With the constant stresses and damage to our diverse and delicate reefs over the past few years, ORA has stepped up to help to reduce these negative implications.

Due to the increase and popularity of the marine hobby coinciding with the uncertainty of our reefs in the near future, something has to be done to change this for without protection and preservation practices and policies being installed and adhered to, our reefs are doomed. Our reefs have severely taken a hit in the past few years through no fault of our own as well as natural disasters. Oil spills and other pollutants to our water, careless boating, snorkeling and scuba diving practices, global warming, hurricanes, earthquakes and increased UV A, B, and C rays all are responsible for our reefs demise.

Not so long ago the thought of breeding marine life in captivity successfully was a dream that hardly could be thought of as a reality by the conscientious aquarist. As it was, their was such a minimal amount of diversity when it came to the selection of corals, fish and invertebrates we could chose from. Then as technological barriers began to break down and advances in technology, collection, shipping and maintenance began to come to the fore front, the marine hobby has exploded and has become an integral part of our conservative efforts towards preserving our natural, beautiful and delicate reefs of the world.