Manuel Merello

Botanical marine biologist researcher at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) in the Florida Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) division (recently retired from FWC). He is also the General Director of an international company dedicated to the restoration and protection of the environment (Merello Marine Consulting) and has been collaborating for more than 20 years with NOAA at the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Research Habitat in Beaufort, North Carolina. Mr. Merello has spent most of his career focused on applied research designed to address questions related to the conservation and protection of marine resources—mainly the benthic habitat, as well as seagrass, mangrove and coral ecology and its restoration, sources of anthropogenic disturbance, protection of endangered species, water quality, geographic information systems, coral biology, and flora and fauna monitoring programs. Mr. Merello has assisted many federal and state agencies, universities, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in the development and implementation of programs for the conservation and restoration of seagrass and manatees in the United States and other places throughout the world. Mr. Merello and his company's associates (MMC) are leaders in the protection, restoration, and mitigation of natural resources.

‍