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On to the Keys!
August 18-19, 1999
@Sea correspondent/
photographer,
Mark Carroll
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| Delicate sea fans and sponges grace complex, colorful coral reefs below the surface waters of the Florida Keys. The water itself magnifies these undersea wonders and contributes its own turquoise glow to the stunning tableau of this tropical island chain. |
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| A thriving section of reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (photo: John Reed) |
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Established in 1990, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects the Keys' living reef--the largest in the United States. Carefully balancing conservation, recreation, research, and commerce, the sanctuary safeguards the diversity of life as well as the human interests in this unique underwater ecosystem. |
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Overdevelopment is a major threat to the health of the Keys ecosystem.
(photo: Brian Lapointe)
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The beauty of the Keys has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. These islands currently host a population of 82,000 residents and a booming tourism industry. The impact of scuba diving and other water sports, boat groundings, propeller rakings, nutrient run-off, and pollution from Florida Bay are placing increasing pressures on the fragile reef environment. The health of the reef has suffered; the quality of the water has diminished.
In the early 70s, Congress addressed many of these problems by laying the framework for the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Envisioned as an oceanic equivalent of America's National Parks system, the program provides environmental protection to selected, uniquely precious marine environments. Since the program's inception, 14 parks have been established in ecologically diverse underwater areas on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, to America Samoa (and soon to the Great Lakes).
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, still in its infancy, faces a challenging future. The sanctuary must protect the natural resources of the Keys and simultaneously sustain human connections to the sea. |
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