Page 265 - Florida and the US Caribbean Isles

The Key West Marine Park KEY WEST MARINE PARK
is located on the oceanside of the
island of Key West, Florida, from Duval
Street to the White Street Pier. Public Access: The public can access the Key West
N Marine Park from four locations: South Beach at the
The three buoyed areas are for swimming Washington St. William St. Flagler Ave. KEY WEST WE southern end of Duval St., Dog Beach at the end of
and snorkeling and are closed to motorized Vernon Street, the Mary and John Spottswood
KEY WEST SCB HRAERSVTEBYEPAACRHK Waterfront Park at the foot of Seminole Street, and
vessels. For boaters, there are two MARINE Higgs Beach from Reynolds Street to White Street.
PARK Swim Zones: These are areas designed to provide a safe
➚access lanes to the shoreline. swimming and snorkeling experience without danger from
Alberta Ave.BCEOACCOHNRUETSORTWaJdodhenlal nSdt.Mary Johnson St. Blvd. White St. motorized vessels. Stay within these zones for maximum
SOUTH South St. Vernon Ave. Spottswood Ave. Reynolds Ave. Casa Marina Ct. WEST MARTELLO safety. These are excellent areas to learn how to snorkel and
BEACH WaPtearrfkroSnetminole
ATSLiSmAONoULTTnAIDHCtMEHoESWOREnHREUNOYSSM&REtO.ESST HOTEL CASA Atlantic
Duval St. REACH LOUIE’S MARINA HIGGS BEACH
Whitehead St. RESORT BACKYARD

RESORT TOWER become familiar with snorkeling equipment before heading to

swimming pier WHITE STREET the offshore reefs. The swim lane off of Higgs Beach is a good
snorkeling area, but please avoid standing on the bottom
SOUTHERNMOST
POINT which is home to marine life.

Motorized Vessel Access Lanes: There are
two areas designated within the park to provide
best snorkeling access and egress to the shoreline for all motorized

approaching traffic Vessel Vessel approaching traffic FISHPIINEGR vessels. Stay well within these lanes when
Access Lane Access Lane approaching or leaving the shoreline of the park.

These Rules Apply to All Areas of the Park: • The park boundaries include the underwater cable from the Prohibited Activities in Swim Zones: Prohibited Activities in
• The Key West Marine Park is a voluntary no take zone; no Western Union line that once provided communications between • Operating a motorized vessel within the Vessel Access Lanes:
collecting, removing, injuring, or possessing any dead or living Key West and Cuba. Do not move, remove, injure, or possess boundaries of the swim-only areas. Motorized • The access lanes are slow speed/no wake
marine life including coral, live rock, fish, tropical fish, these or other historical resources within the park; they are for vessels must stay within the designated access areas. Do not operate a vessel at a speed in
invertebrates, plant, conch, coral or live rock. No fishing, everyone to enjoy! lanes. Do not operate a vessel propelled or excess of slow speed within either of the two
netting, or spearfishing of marine life. State law prohibits spear • Please be a good boater; operating a vessel in a manner which powered by an internal combustion engine designated access lanes
fishing within 200 feet of a public beach. It is illegal to collect endangers life, limb, marine resources or property is prohibited. within any of the no-motor swim zone areas • No overnight mooring or anchoring in the
Queen Conch. • The demarcation buoys provide navigational aids to identify identified and marked by demarkation buoys. access lanes, which are designed to allow
the swim lanes and motorized vessel access lanes. Do not vessels to approach and exit the park.
• Don’t teach your trash to swim! Please dispose of all trash in damage or remove them. Report all missing buoys to Reef Relief • No anchoring within the swim zones; this area is
receptacles. No discharging or depositing trash or other (305) 294-3100. designated for swimmers and snorkelers. expel their symbiotic algae. Storms and hurricanes
pollutants into the waters of the park. wreak extensive damage. Corals are the canaries in the
coal mine for our planet’s health.
Fish The Key West Marine Park is home to many the rocks. To the west, the shoreline Baitfish Threats Corals and seagrasses Overharvesting of fish and other sealife upsets the
varieties of fish. From the pier at Higgs Beach, a platform changes to a sandy beach where delicate balance of life and maximum sustainable
of beach rock forms most of the shoreline that shelters juvenile permit, a small round need clean clear nutrient-free yields for many species have been exceeded. Destructive
mangrove and school master snapper and grunts. Grunts schooling silver fish, can be found. tropical ocean waters to thrive and fishing techniques damage reef habitat. Anchors
produced an unusual sound and are closely related to In deeper water and along the a great deal of sunlight to grow, so dropped on reefs, accidental boat groundings, propellor
snappers but are gen- seawalls and jetties are yellow and good water quality is essential to dredging, and diver/ snorkeler impacts from fins,
erally smaller (normally black striped Sargent Major, three their survival. Turbidity, sedimen- hands, equipment or standing on corals can crush
between 12–18 inches). spot damsel fish, porcupine fish, tation and pollution reduce these fragile coral polyps. Marine debris, especially plastics
Snappers snap their jaws trunkfish, and queen angelfish. conditions. Algal blooms caused by and monofilament line, damages corals and is deadly
when hooked. Yellowtail Beginning 50 yards from shore, excess nutrients stress slow growing for birds, fish and turtles that become entangled in it or
snappers swim in loose colorful parrotfish, snappers, porgies corals and seagrasses, reduce ingest it. Seagrass die-offs affect fish and other sealife
schools while others are and multitudes of grunts gather oxygen, and inhibit photosynthesis. that cannot survive in such conditions. Do your part to
solitary. At times, large near sponges, sea fans and corals. Poor water quality also promotes protect our coral reef ecosystem.
schools of baitfish such Elongated needlefish, small barra- coral diseases. The harvest of coral
as anchovies, silversides cuda and at times, young tarpon and live rock destroys reefs. Rising
and ballyhoo gather in Grunts swim through the area as well. Snapper sea temperatures cause coral
bleaching, stressing corals that