MIAMI — In a warehouse, Colin Foord is a doting father overseeing a coral nursery.

His charges are a type of soft coral called gorgonians. "They're a fundamentally important part of the Caribbean and Floridian coral reef habitat," he says.

Foord tends to more than 2,000 tiny soft coral specimens growing in several large saltwater tanks. In each one, snails and hermit crabs help keep it free of algae. There are sea fans, sea whips and other species, some of which will eventually grow as big as six feet tall when they're transplanted onto a major new project that's beginning to take shape in the Atlantic Ocean near Miami Beach.

When complete, "Reefline" will be a seven-mile-long artificial reef within swimming distance of the beach. It's an art installation, a restoration of the island'

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