Contact:  Justin Kenney              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                     10/14/97

The state of Florida and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced an emergency sanctuary rule to prevent vessels 50 meters or greater in length from anchoring on living coral within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Responding to information from a dive charter captain who videotaped and reported anchoring damage to sanctuary officials, the cooperative action addresses clear evidence of damage to living corals caused by large, foreign-flagged vessels anchoring within state waters on the Tortugas Bank.

"This is a good example of what we envisioned the Florida Keys sanctuary could achieve in protecting both the natural and economic resources of the Keys," said Florida Governor Lawton Chiles.

When state and NOAA resource managers learned that large foreign flagged freighters have been anchoring in sensitive reef habitat in state waters west of the Dry Tortugas National Park, sanctuary officials sent a team of biologists to the area to assess the situation. They noted significant damage to corals, sponges, and other delicate organisms. Wide swaths of barren seabed and overturned coral heads were evidence of on-going disruption to the coral reef community. During the two-day period alone, the biologists witnessed four large ships anchored in the coral, some with anchors as large as 15 feet in length held in place by chains with individual links as large as 20 inches.

The state and NOAA are addressing the problem by prohibiting vessels 50 meters or greater in length from anchoring in the area. The affected area extends from the western edge of the Dry Tortugas National Park to the western sanctuary boundary. The emergency rule will stop damage immediately while the public process to implement a permanent rule can be undertaken. Pursuant to the state-federal agreement, an emergency rule can be in place no longer than 120 days. Any proposed sanctuary regulatory amendment in state waters must be taken before the Florida Board of Trustees for approval as well as go through the federal rule process before they can become permanent.

Although the emergency rule will stop large ships from dropping anchor on the coral, it will not affect other activities in the area. Vessel transit, fishing, and all other activities and uses of this area will remain the same. In addition, sanctuary officials are identifying alternative sites for the freighters to anchor so that the shipping companies are not unduly impacted by the change. Officials are recommending the freighters anchor west of the sanctuary boundary in depths greater than 120 feet where the bottom consists of sand and mud. As Tortugas Bank is under approximately 60 feet of water, the existing anchoring regulation does not apply.

This joint resource protection decision is the first of its kind for the sanctuary. As it is managed in a co-trusteeship with the state of Florida, the decision to implement an emergency rule on state lands and waters must be a joint one.

"This incident shows the value of the state-federal partnership," said Sanctuary Superintendent Billy Causey. "Together we can act immediately to prevent further injury to our coral reef resources. The emergency rule will only affect those ships 50 meters and longer that are anchoring on living coral formations. During this period we will be pursuing a permanent rule through a public process that will ensure that wonders like the sensitive reefs of the Tortugas area are here for years to come."