The Draft Coral and Coral Reef Resources FMP further states: "... that 

 the amount of damage is proportional to the level of use in an area, the 

 method of anchoring, the size of the anchor used, and the composition of 

 the biotic community." The draft FMP goes on to cite accounts from 

 several areas which emphasize the relationship of user levels to anchor 

 damage. It would be reasonable to assume, for the Looe Key Reef, that, 

 in the absence of anchoring regulations, this same relationship would 

 hold. The number of boats presently anchoring in this small area is 

 already quite high and the stress is apparent. Anchor impacts on the 

 Looe Key Fore Reef coral community are projected to become more widespread 

 in the absence of regulation. 



Unregulated anchoring would give unlimited choice of anchor sites to 

 recreational and commercial boats. Visitors could dive close by their 

 boats. Physical damage to coral would continue unabated. 



2. Prohibit anchoring on coral on Fore Reef (delineated as the core 

 trapazoid in the Coral Reef FMP (Figure 8) and encourage anchoring in sand 

 areas elsewhere. PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE. 



This alternative would help protect the Fore Reef coral assemblages 

 from snagging, breaking, or other anchor damage. Anchor abrasion of 

 corals is common in the Fore Reef zone of Looe Key. It is here that 

 anchor chains and lines, primarily from the smaller draft boats anchored 

 in the sand bottom between the coral spurs, chafe the adjacent corals. 

 Raising anchors snagged on the coral spurs also has resulted in significant 

 damage. As the popularity of Looe Key and its accessibility becomes 

 more widely known, anchor damage can be expected to occur more frequently. 

 Indiscriminate anchoring with its potential for damage in a coral reef 

 sanctuary, is incompatible with the purposes for which these areas are 

 considered for designation. 



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