ADDITION OF NORTHERN REEF TRACT IN 'COAST PILOT' INCREASES PROTECTION OF CORAL REEFS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 18, 2015

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us 

ADDITION OF NORTHERN REEF TRACT IN 'COAST PILOT' INCREASES PROTECTION OF CORAL REEFS

~Hard-to-see reef locations identified to help reduce harm by boaters~

MIAMI – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) announces expanded outreach efforts to further protect Florida’s valuable reef tract. The northern portion of the Florida Reef Tract, from the northern boundary of Biscayne National park to St. Lucie Inlet, will be included in the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) publication, “Coast Pilot.” The “Coast Pilot” is a series of books that addresses information for navigators that is difficult to show on the NOAA charts. Most boaters are familiar with reefs in the Florida Keys, but the northern portion of the reef tract is often overlooked, and boaters can unknowingly cause reef damage by anchoring or vessel groundings.

“We are very excited about this important information being included in the ‘Coast Pilot’,” said Kevin Claridge, director of DEP’s Florida’s Coastal Office. “Due to the low-relief nature of the coral reefs in the northern portion of the Florida Reef Tract, boaters have a hard time seeing the reefs on sonar and many don’t even know these reefs exist. This is an important step in protecting our reefs.”

Prior to this update, there was no mention in the “Coast Pilot” of the coral reefs north of Biscayne National Park. CRCP’s Reef Injury Prevention and Response Program has been working with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey for the past year to incorporate information and reef locations into the publication. Florida’s reefs are protected by the Florida Coral Reef Protection Act, which makes it illegal to damage coral reefs in state waters. The “Coast Pilot” will also link to CRCP’s website with information about this law and ways to avoid damaging the reefs.

“We are always working to increase our outreach efforts and build awareness of southeast Florida’s reefs and Florida’s Coral Reef Protection Act,” said Joanna Walczak, southeast regional administrator for DEP’s Florida Coastal Office. “With more than six million people living just offshore of these reefs and more than 38 million visitors annually, we’ve got an important job. This is a big step forward in educating our large population of local and international boaters. The next step will be to work with NOAA to update the navigational charts to include additional coral notations.”

Information was provided through mapping research conducted during the past 10 years by Nova Southeastern University and funded by CRCP.

For more information on the "Coast Pilot" publication, please click here and for more information on the Coral Reef Protection Act, please click hereInformation on the northern portion of the Florida Reef Tract can be found in Coast Pilot 4, Chapter 3, Section 114 (Edition 47, 2015).