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UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JULY 14, 2022
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July 13 kicked off a 100-day comment period on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s updated set of rules, proposals and management plan — known as the Restoration Blueprint. Check out the proposed rulemaking at floridakeys.noaa.gov/blueprint. Submit your comments at regulations.gov.
Coast Guard Air Station Miami conducts drills off the waters of the Florida Keys on June 28. DAVID GROSS/Keys Weekly
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UPDATED RESTORATION BLUEPRINT RELEASED
PROPOSALS EXTEND BOUNDARIES, END ANCHORING IN SANCTUARY PRESERVATION AREAS
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lorida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Advisory Council members listened intently as an updated set of proposed regulations and a management plan — known as the Restoration Blueprint — was unveiled during a July 12 meeting at Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key. “This is an exciting day for a number of reasons,” said George Garrett, SAC chairman, to kick off the meeting. “I know we’ve all been waiting for it because we went through a year or two where we were simply waiting.” Specifically, the sanctuary is proposing expanding the current 3,800-square-mile boundary surrounding the Florida Keys to 4,795 square miles. North America’s only coral barrier reef falls within the sanctuary, and so do 6,000-plus species of marine life, seagrass beds and mangrove-fringed island. Joanne Delaney, resource protection and permit coordinator for the sanctuary, said the majority of the expansion includes Pulley Ridge Wildlife Management Area in the Gulf of Mexico. It has the deepest known coral reef off the continental U.S. The ridge itself is a drowned barrier island some 100 kilometers long by 5 kilometers wide – about 62 miles by 3 miles – northwest of the Dry Tortugas and running parallel to the Florida peninsula. The zone overlaps with an existing Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Habitat Area of Particular Concern. While fishing is allowed under the proposal, no anchoring would be allowed within the management area. The sanctuary boundary also lines up with the “area to be avoided” line, which was established in 1990 and prohibits tank vessels and vessels over 50 meters from traversing the waters off the Florida Keys. Even with the proposed boundary expansions and modifications, sanctuary officials said 15% of the sanctuary’s 4,800 square miles would fall within managed zones. An assessment on the sanctuary in 2011 found that conditions within the sanctuary were fair or poor. Since that report, the Keys witnessed a destructive hurricane in Irma
and a massive influx of boaters on the Keys waters since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A set of proposals released to the public in August 2019 outlined various alternatives to combat the decline in marine conditions. Comments submitted by the public to regulations.gov were examined by sanctuary staff, bringing forth the proposed rulemaking on July 12 for another round of comments. Sarah Fangman, sanctuary superintendent, said the Restoration Blueprint is “our attempt to do something” with a Keys ecosystem seeing continued stress. “This is about our future and we all have to do a little compromise,” she said. “As you hear proposals where we made changes, you’ll hear that we listened.” Limited-use suggestions for Carysfort, Sombrero and Sand Key reefs found in the 2019 draft of the Restoration Blueprint weren’t included in the latest proposal released to the public. A recommendation to end overnight use of mooring buoys wasn’t included either. And sanctuary officials said public input helped modify some original ideas, including recommendation for greater access and use of channels at Steamboat Creek, Tavernier, Marathon and Marquesas Keys. A proposed rule would reopen existing no-access areas, including the tidal flat south of Marvin Key and the interior channels at Mud Keys. Sanctuary officials said it’s based on updated data regarding bird populations in these areas. Another regulation outlined within the proposed rulemaking deals with discharges by cruise ships. Specifically, cruise ships would only be allowed to discharge cooling water, but anything else thrown into the water would be prohibited within the sanctuary. For all vessels besides ships, deck wash and cooling water are allowed, as well as chumming and other fish activities. As for fish feeding, the proposed rule would prohibit feeding or attracting fish, including sharks, from any vessel or while diving in federal waters. State rules currently restrict such activity within state waters. Chumming for
