Latest News

Important facts about Tar Balls

•  There is no evidence the tar balls found in the keys are related Horizon oil spill.  That is why the U.S. Coast Guard is having the tar balls analyzed to determine their source.

•  According to NOAAthe oil spill is 85 miles southwest of Pensacola, 135 miles from Port St. Joe, 185 miles from St. Petersburg, and 20 miles from the Loop Current. The oil spill is currently 85 miles from Florida and very near the loop current.

• Finding isolated tar balls in Keys waters or on area beaches is not an unusual occurrence. The Keys are located along a busy commercial shipping route and commercial vessels sometimes discharge bilge water that has oil in it. Tar balls can drift into Keys waters from other areas, not just the northern Gulf region.

Coast Watchers Wanted: You can adopt a piece of shoreline now and do a pre-inspection.  FDOH is already doing this on the public beaches, but we need more eyes out there.  You will document that it doesn’t have oil now.

Pre-Oil Arrival Beach Cleanup Guidelines and Checklist
Volunteers are mobilizing to prepare for the arrival of oil on Florida’s shores. Clearing man-made debris from beaches before the oil arrives lessens the amount of contaminated material. Listed below are general guidelines for planning beach cleanups.

Request for Professional Wildlife Rehabbers
All oiled wildlife calls should be directed to the Wildlife Hotline at 1-866-557-1401 recovery/rescue efforts can be coordinated.

KEYS RESOURCES:

We Need Volunteers!
Florida Keys Oil Spill Response 

In an effort to be proactive in protecting our Florida Keys environment, this website (www.keysspill.com) has been created to help link all partner projects (US Navy, Marine Sanctuary) with volunteers, including Charter Captains,Divemasters, businesses, organizations and individuals.

Gulf Coast Residents Oil Spill Response

Beach protection efforts and how you can help

Preventative Beach Cleaning May Harm Nesting Shorebirds

Well-intentioned requests for volunteer efforts that urge eager people to move beach litter above the high water line to make cleaning up oil that may come ashore easier may prove harmful to beach nesting shorebirds. The Florida Wildlife Federation encourages willing volunteers to add their name to a volunteer registry so we can connect folks with appropriate activities when they are made available. To find out more about the registry, visit: Volunteer to Rescue Injured Birds and to Clean Oil off Beaches

Situation – Friday 30 April – NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco spoke with fishermen
in Venice, Louisiana today as the Deepwater Horizon incident grows. Also visiting the
spill were Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Interior Ken
Salazar, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen, EPA Administrator Lisa
Jackson, Rear Admiral Mary Landry, Deputy Secretary of Interior David Hayes and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Carol Browner. The Department of Defense authorized mobilization of the Louisiana National Guard to help protect critical habitats from contamination and assist local communities in the cleanup and removal of oil.

What is REEF, Fish & Friends?
Reef, Fish & Friends is a monthly seminar series co-sponsored by REEF
and the Sanctuary Friends Foundation that revolves around marine life
and diving that Counts. Snorkelers, divers and natural history buffs are
invited to entertaining presentation by guest speakers, join informal
discussions, and enjoy some laid-back, Keys-style fun with friends who
share your passion.

Bring the whole family to the thrid annual SCIENCE SATURDAY.  Fun for the whole family kids activities, Arts & Crafts, Marine Touch Tank, food, live music by C.W. Colt and much much more! Not to be missed . . .

Help Us Protect Our Sanctuary!
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Enjoy appetizers & drinks aboard the Fury Catamaran!

We are happy to share with you the wonderful news that The Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources issued the following press release.

Scientists have determined a strong connection between the coral spawn and seasonal lunar cycles. Though the polyp release cannot be guaranteed to happen on the exact date, the 2009 full moons fall on Thursday, Aug. 5,6,7 and Friday, Sept. 2,3,4

Summer is here and the water is growing warmer. With rising water temperatures and calm seas comes an increased chance of coral bleaching. Members of the public are encouraged to become trained as volunteer observers.

The ex-USAFS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg new purpose will be as an artificial reef, for recreational purposes, but will serve as an underwater classroom for the FFCC, and be a platform for ground-breaking research in reef monitoring.

Anglers from across the state are helping biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissions (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and the Mote Marine Laboratory gather valuable information about tarpon.

For millions of years, female sea turtles have been coming ashore to lay eggs on beaches. In present times, however, many coastal areas are highly populated. Artificial lights can disorient hatchlings and deter females from nesting.

Sanctuary Friends would like to thank Protect our Reefs for funding our Coral Reef Classroom. Their generosity will make an immediate difference in the lives of middle school children who participate in Coral Reef Classroom.

They are transplanting buds of staghorn coral on to concrete pedestals. Later (not shown) they took larger cuttings out to the reef for permanent attachment. Staghorn grows fast and is used to try and bring back life to devistated reef sections.

The NPCA officially rolled out its Eco-Mariner program on April 22, Earth Day, after a couple of years of preparation. Eighteen adults completed the course which took on average 1.5 hours.

Whether the Keys sanctuary will be successful in restoring and preserving its coral reefs depends upon the degree to which concerned citizens get involved. Citizens need to push for well informed the management and science-based development policies.