The Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring program (CREMP) is being led by Dr. Sandra Brooke of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Dr. Jim Porter of the University of Georgia, Institute of Ecology. Initiated in 1996, this project examines coral and hardbottom communities at 41 fixed sites annually.

The goal of the CREMP is to monitor the status and trends of coral reef and hardbottom communities in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary using repetitive underwater observations and video transects to provide estimates of biodiversity, distribution and coverage of reef corals, soft corals, sponges, algae, substrate and the incidence of selected coral diseases.

The primary object of the project is to annually sample permanently marked sites ranging from the northern Florida Keys to the Dry Tortugas, including outer reefs, patch reefs, and hardbottom communities. Site locations were chosen using a random stratified technique based on Environmental Protection Agency EMAP survey procedures. Underwater Station Species Inventories (SSI), surveys coral biodiversity while image analysis of video transects provides estimates of planar coverage.

The sampling design and broad spatial coverage will provide statistically sound estimates of the temporal stability of coverage and coral species richness. These observations can be used to generate hypotheses to distinguish between local, regional, and larger-scale factors that may influence the health of the coral reef ecosystem (e.g., sewage, land use, visitation, Florida Bay water, global climate change). The CREMP will provide the scientific information needed to achieve the best management practices possible. It is the most statistically rigorous and precise large-scale coral monitoring project in the world.

The Florida Marine Research Institute has principle responsibility for field logistics, underwater video camera systems while the University of Georgia is responsible for disease monitoring and identification. All laboratories participate in field and laboratory data collection and image analysis. Funding sources are the United State Environmental Protection Agency coordinated by Fred McManus and the Coastal Ocean Program (COP) within the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).