August 14, 2025
Every August, 7-10 nights after the full moon, the reef-building corals of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary put on a fantastic spawning display. It is one of the most abundant coral spawning displays in the entire Caribbean due to the high density cover of broadcast spawning corals. Many people refer to it as an underwater snowstorm!
This year, the mass coral spawning is scheduled to occur this weekend. Over more than 30 years of observations, we've determined that Giant Star Coral (M. cavernosa) should start shortly after dark, followed by Boulder Star Coral (O. franksi) and Symmetrical Brain Coral (P. strigosa), then several other species of star coral over the course of the evening. Similar predictions are available for the other nights this weekend.
We've also tracked creatures like brittle stars, sponges, and Christmas tree worms that seem to find this the perfect time of year for spawning activities as well. Be sure to check out the links above for all the details.
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Every August, the reef-building corals of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary put on a fantastic spawning display. It is one of the most abundant coral spawning displays in the entire Caribbean due to the high density cover of broadcast spawning species. Check it out in our video, and learn more at flowergarden.noaa.gov/education/coralspawning.html!
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