protect the environment in and around Looe Key. No comprehensive management 

 programs for research monitoring or education would be instituted. In addition, 

 long range planning focused on ensuring continued ecosystem viability would be 

 lacking. 



° Concerns 



The close proximity to land of the Florida Reef Tract, including Looe Key 

 Reef, makes these areas accessible to large numbers of people who are able to 

 drive or fly to the Keys. The Overseas Highway and its 44 bridges link the Keys 

 to the mainland, and jet air service connects Key West and Marathon to all major 

 American urban areas. In addition, public charter boat operators, dive boats, 

 recreation divers and fishermen, utilize the reef throughout the year. 



Monroe County statistics indicate that the Keys are expanding rapidly in 

 both permanent resident and tourist populations. In the area nearest Looe Key, 

 from Seven Mile Bridge up to and including half of Ramrod Key, the population is 

 expected to grow from 1,833 in 1974 to 5,845 in 1998 (See Black, Crow & Eidsness, 

 pp 3-4). Tourism is increasing. In 1979 the number of visitors to Bahia Honda 

 State Park, in the vicinity of Looe Key, rose from 293,256 to 351,700. 



Observations from the Looe Key Resource Inventory (Antonius et. aj_. , 1978) 

 and interviews with frequent visitors to Looe Key indicate that souvenir coral 

 collecting is an ongoing practice today, and as such constitutes a serious strain 

 on the reef's coral resources. The lack of certain species in accessible reef 

 areas of suitable habitat provide circumstantial evidence of the removal of the 

 more attractive growth forms. 



Anchoring by hook and line fishermen, commercial and amateur tropical 

 specimen collectors, recreational fishermen, and divers can also cumulatively 

 damage reef structure. Physical damage to coral species from commercial fishing 

 can occur when wire fish traps and lobster traps are dropped on coral, dragged 

 across the bottom during retrieval or tossed about during rough weather. 



There is widespread evidence of anchor damage to stony corals and octocorals 

 within the area of the proposed sanctuary. Broken pieces of elkhorn and staahorn 

 coral are easily visible in the Fore Reef and Reef Flat zones where the water is 

 shallow and the more spectacular coral is found. Some of this type of damage may 

 be related to wave damage or other natural factors. The extent to which it is 

 anchor- related is unknown at the present time. Numerous observations have been 

 made of boat anchors lying on living corals and of anchor chains and ropes 

 chafing corals. 



The use of wire fish traps is a highly controversial issue. The traps are 

 extremely efficient gear. Fishing near the coral reefs with these traps can 

 cause adverse ecological impacts by killing or injuring non-target species and 

 removing too many of the predator species important to the coral reef system. 

 Traps lost by the separation of the buoy line (ghost traps) drift uncontrolled 

 and can continue to trap fish for unknown periods of time. Unregulated use of 

 wire traps can also impair recreational value. 



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