NOAA has chosen alternative b as the preferred alternative. This 

 alternative would protect present and future coral resources while permit- 

 ting coral specimen collecting for educational and scientific purposes 

 under permit from NOAA. Since the current level of commercial coral col- 

 lecting is insignificant in the proposal area, the economic impact of this 

 alternative will be negligible. The proposed restriction is more stringent 

 than that being considered in the Coral and Coral Reef Resources Fishery 

 Management Plan (FMP) in that the latter permits limited harvest of soft 

 coral outside the 1 sq nm Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) at 

 Looe Key. OCZM will work closely with the Fishery Management Councils to 

 insure as nearly as possible compatible non-duplicative permitting proced- 

 ures. 



A regulation similar to the preferred alternative is presently in 

 force in John Pennekamp State Park and in the Key Largo Marine Sanctuary. 

 As discussed in Chapter Three, the inclusion of a provision for prohibi- 

 tion of possession of coral, living or dead, within the proposed boundaries 

 has resulted in fewer enforcement difficulties within these two protected 

 areas. On the other hand Florida State Law, applicable in the territorial 

 sea, does not prohibit possession of cleaned or cured sea fans, hard and 

 soft corals and fire coral, and enforcement difficulty has arisen in State 

 waters because these organisms can be quickly killed and bleached on board 

 ship before enforcement agents can board for inspection (Tingley, personal 

 communication, 1979). 



2. Wire Trap Fishing 



The following alternatives were analyzed for regulating wire trap 

 fishing within the proposed sanctuary: 



a. Unrestricted use of wire traps (status quo); 



b. Prohibiting wire fish traps on the Fore Reef and Reef Flat 

 areas of the sanctuary and allowing wire fish traps else- 

 where; and 



c. Prohibiting wire fish traps. 



NOAA has chosen alternative c as the preferred alternative. This 

 alternative would prevent both physical and ecological damage to the coral 

 formations and resident fish species. Fishermen, although prohibited from 

 laying traps within the 5 sq nm area, could continue to utilize the area 

 seaward of the reef beyond approximately 140 ft and those areas adjacent to 

 Looe Key, along the outer reef tract. 



This proposed regulation is slightly more restrictive than that 

 presently under consideration in the draft Snapper-Grouper FMP. This FMP 

 includes a proposed prohibition out to the 100 ft contour. The sanctuary 

 prohibition would extend to the proposed sanctuary boundary at approximately 

 the 140 ft contour. 



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