One of the few Florida reefs where coral cover has actually increased, dense mounding brain and star coral heads in 2-6m, with…One of the few Florida reefs where coral cover has actually increased, dense mounding brain and star coral heads in 2-6m, with the biggest aggregation of parrotfish inshore in the Keys. It looks like the Keys used to. Cheeca Rocks defied the region-wide coral collapse and became NOAA's flagship monitoring and restoration site, tracked continuously since 2012. Its unusual resilience, likely tied to its inshore position and turbid, variable water, is now being studied for corals that can survive warming. Anchorage: Sanctuary mooring buoys only, a short run from Islamorada. Hazards: Do not stand on coral; the site is a monitored restoration area. Plus