Cultural Resources 



The proposed sanctuary has a diversity of cultural resources (such as the 

 HMS Looe). To understand more fully their history and to provide a mechanism 

 that will ensure their survival, NOAA will competitively fund work that will 

 entail survey, inventory and assessment of submerged cultural resources. 

 Attention will be given to the interrelationship between cultural resources 

 and biological processes. 



C. Preferred Boundary Alternative 



Three boundary alternatives were considered for the proposed marine 

 sanctuary (see fig. 4, Boundary Alternatives). 



1. Alternative 1 - an area 1 sq nm containing only the Fore Reef 

 and Reef Flat; 



2. Alternative 2 - an area consisting of 5 sq nm containing the 

 Fore Reef, Deep Reef and Deep Ridge; 



3. Alternative 3 - an area consisting of 10 square nautical 

 miles including the resources contained within the 5 sq nm 

 alternative plus more extensive portions of the Patch Reef 

 area. 



The 5 square nautical mile boundary alternative was chosen as the 

 preferred alternative (See Chapter Four - Environmental Consequences for 

 a detailed analysis of the various alternatives, including the preferred). 

 The 5 sq nm alternative encompasses representative portions of all five 

 ecological zones found at Looe Key: Patch Reef; Reef Flat; Fore Reef; Deep 

 Reef and Deep Ridge. It also covers an extension of the Fore Reef to the 

 east discovered only recently as part of the survey work for this EIS. 



The Patch Reef zone is a relatively shallow flat bottom area, covered 

 with extensive turtle grass and manatee grass. Interspersed among the sea- 

 grass beds are numerous patch reefs with \/ery little profile. The patch 

 reefs within this zone are usually dominated by densely growing, large octo- 

 corals. The species diversity of octocorals on the Patch Reef is 

 greater than that of the Fore Reef and certain octocorals exist only on the 

 Patch Reef. The scattered stony corals reach only moderate size, but never- 

 theless give the patch reefs enough structure to provide shelter for fishes 

 and invertebrates. In addition, the naturally rare pillar coral ( Dendrogyra 

 cylindrus ); is more likely to be found in the Patch Reef area than at the 

 Fore Reef (Antonus, 1979). 



The significance of the Patch Reef zone as a shelter for a variety of 

 finfish and shellfish has been pointed out in a number of publications (e.g., 

 Zieman & Roblee, 1979). Without the protection of the interspersed patch 

 reefs these animals would be unable to use the surrounding seagrass beds as 

 feeding grounds. This zone, together with the even shallower Reef Flat, are 

 Looe Key's nursery for juvenile fish. In addition, the extensive seagrass 

 beds of both zones constitute the feeding ground for many deep-water fishes 

 migrating to these areas at night. 



The Fore Reef provides the deep sheltered channels for these migrations 

 from the Deep Reef to the shallow reef zones, while the much wider channels 

 on either side of the Fore Reef provide access for pelagic species. 



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