United States

United States Florida East Coast A reef system runs from northern Monroe County to Palm Beach County in a series of three discontinuous reef lines paralleling the shore. [1] Most reefs have been mapped and coral cover estimated for the first two rows, but less so for the third, deeper reef. [2] The reefs of Florida’s southeast coast are as not as well studied as those of the Florida Keys. There are varied and chronic stresses from this extremely urbanized coast. Dredging for beach renourishment, channel deepening, and maintenance have significantly reduced water quality, smothering corals and other invertebrates and lowering productivity (e.g. Boca Raton and Sunny Isles). Recreational use can be extremely heavy especially in warmer months, with clear evidence of fishing gear impact and anchor damage. The volume of shipping from the large ports (Miami, Port Everglades, and Palm Beach) means that ships frequently run aground or anchor on reefs. In the past ten years, a number of moderate-to-severe large vessel-groundings have damaged the reef systems. [3] Ocean outfalls pour large volumes of secondary treated sewage into the coastal waters. [4] Queen conch and Nassau groupers are commercially extinct. Queen conch populations are being restocked with captive-bred juveniles. Spiny lobsters have been fully exploited and many species of groupers and snappers have been over-collected. [5] Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been some bleaching similar to the levels seen in the Florida Keys during the 1997/98 event. [6] White band and other coral diseases have been obvious for over 20 years. Mats of sediment-trapping turf algae are restricting new recruit settlement. [7] These reefs are given some protection by Florida State statutes and regulations (e.g., fishing regulations, dredging permits, prohibition against harvest, sale, or destruction of corals, etc.) In addition, mooring buoys have been established, although the level of protection is not the same as in the Keys. [8] Florida Keys Coral reefs of the Florida Keys are at risk from coral diseases, overfishing, high resource use, coastal pollution, and vessel groundings. However, involvement of federal, state, and local government to manage these threats is high. the reefs at risk analysis identifies over 60 percent of Florida’s reefs as threatened but probably understates the overall risk to coral reefs in Florida. The Florida reef tract, consisting of bank and patch reefs, extends in a southwesterly arc for approximately 350 km from south of Miami to the Dry Tortugas. The tract is almost continuous except for a gap between Rebecca Shoal and the Dry Tortugas. Most of these reefs are more than 4 km offshore and thus do not register in our assessment as threatened by development on the Keys. Also, because south Florida is very flat, the area does not score high for watershed-based threats. Most of the reef tract lies within the boundaries of the 9,800-sq-km Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS,) [9] but additional, significant reef areas are found within the boundaries of the Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne National Park, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The decline in reef health in southeastern Florida and along the Florida Keys is well documented. For example, live coral cover in the FKNMS decreased from 10.3 to 6.4 percent between 1996 and 1999. [10] Over the past 20 years, coral bleaching has increased in frequency and duration, with 1997 and 1998 being the worst years on record, and probably has been responsible for some of the declines in coral cover observed since 1996. [11] Furthermore, elevated mortality of juvenile corals at shallow stations coincided with direct impacts from Hurricane Georges in 1998, [12] as did an overall decline in coral cover. In addition, coral diseases significantly threaten the overall health and vitality of reef systems in the Florida Keys. [13] Disease type, distribution, and frequency are increasing, but so far pathogens have only been identified for five of 18 coral diseases. [14] Another serious threat to reef condition comes from overfishing, with almost 60 percent of reefs threatened, although studies show increases in some fish populations within established no-take zones. [15] Serial overfishing throughout the Keys has dramatically altered reef fish populations; targeted reef fish are highly exploited. In the Florida Keys, 23 out of 35 market fish species are overfished, [16] and 26 of 34 fish species are considered overfished in Biscayne Bay. [17] Pressure comes not only from commercial fishing, but also from recreational fishing in South Florida, which has grown exponentially since 1964, with no limits on the number of boats allowed to fish. [18] To address the pressure from overfishing and to preserve marine biological diversity, the FKNMS in 1997 instituted a network of 23 fully protected marine reserves encompassing 65 percent of the shallow coral reef habitats. In July 2001, the 520-sq-km Tortugas Ecological Reserve, which conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities, was implemented. Early results show improvements in the size and number of certain targeted reef fish species within this reserve and, to a lesser degree, in an adjoining area still open to fishing. [19] Significant pressures, both direct and indirect, on the reefs of the Keys also come from the millions of seasonal and temporary visitors who swell local populations. Direct damage has been documented from groundings and anchors, as well as from divers and snorkellers who touch, kick, or stand on corals. Indirect impacts come from sewage pollution of nearshore waters of the Florida Keys, because of increasing development and the use of septic tanks as the sole method of wastewater treatment. [20] Coastal development was identified as a threat to over 40 percent of Florida’s reefs. Florida’s reefs are subject to indirect impacts from altered freshwater flow into coastal waters. Water management systems for flood control, agriculture, and urban water supplies have dramatically altered freshwater flow through the Everglades and into the ocean. [21] Florida Bay and nearshore waters provide a critical nursery and juvenile habitat for a variety of reef species, and declines seen in these areas indirectly affect the overall health and structure of offshore reefs. This freshwater flow also carries excess nutrients, and eutrophication of nearshore water has been documented. [22] Large ships have been responsible for damaging or destroying over 8 sq km of coral reef habitat in the FKNMS. [23] More than 40 percent of the world’s commerce passes through the Florida Straits each year. Ten large-ship groundings have occurred in the zone since 1984, and coral damage from rogue anchoring by large passenger ships or freighters has occurred 17 times since 1997. In 2002 NOAA, through the International Maritime Organization, declared the first U.S. zone to protect coral from anchoring, groundings and collisions by large international ships. The zone, known as the Florida Keys’ Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, is more than 10,000 sq km and is one of only five such areas in the world. Starting in December 2003, ships greater than 50 meters in length transiting the zone have been required to avoid certain areas and abide by three no-anchoring areas. All nautical charts produced worldwide will now show this zone. Texas Flower Garden Banks As a result of the large inputs of sediment-laden freshwater from the North American continent, reef development in the Gulf of Mexico is extremely limited. In U.S. waters, there are scattered coral and reef developments; the best documented is the Flower Garden Banks, located 190 km southeast of Galveston, Texas. The East Flower Garden Bank comprises about 70 sq km and contains about one sq km of coral reef. About 19 km to the west, the West Flower Garden Bank comprises about 77 sq km, of which about 0.4 sq km is coral reef. [24] The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is managed and protected by the National Marine Sanctuary Program run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Illegal fishing both by commercial longliners and by recreational spearfishers has been reported in the area. [25] Other threats are low, and the coral is in excellent condition. [26] The live coral cover has changed little since 1972, averaging 47 percent in 1995 and 52 percent in 1997. [27] [1] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 102 [2] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 252 [3] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 111 [4] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 261 [5] J. Lang et al., “Status of coral reefs in the northern areas of the Wider Caribbean,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998), p.130 [6] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 105 [7] J. Lang et al., “Status of coral reefs in the northern areas of the Wider Caribbean,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998), p. 130 [8] B. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 265 [9] D.D. Turgeon et al., The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 (Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002), p. 101 [10] J.W. Porter et al., “Detection of Coral Reef Change by the Florida Keys Coral Reef Monitoring Project,” in The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. J.W. Porter and K.G. Porter, eds. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002), p. 763 [11] B.D. Causey et al., “Status of Coral Reefs in the U.S. Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico: Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Navassa,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 255 [12] Turgeon et al. (2002), p. 104 [13] J.W. Porter et al., “Detection of Coral Reef Change by the Florida Keys Coral Reef Monitoring Project,” in The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. J.W. Porter and K.G. Porter, eds. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002), pp. 749-769 [14] K.P. Sutherland et al. 2004. “Disease and Immunity in Caribbean and Indo-Pacific Zooxanthellate Corals.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 266:273-302 [15] B.D. Keller et al. “Designing, Implementing, and Monitoring Fully Protected Zones: An Example from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, ” in Proceedings of the 2003 Georgia Basin/Puget Sound Research Conference . T.W. Droscher and D.A Fraser, eds. (CD-ROM or Online: http://www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/03_proceedings/start.htm , 2004), p. 3 [16] J.S. Ault et al. 1998. ” A Retrospective (1979-1996) M ultispecies Assessment of Coral Reef Fish Stocks in the Florida Keys. Fishery Bulletin 96:395-414 [17] J.S. Ault et al., Site Characterization for Biscayne Bay National Park: Assessment of Fisheries Resource and Habitats (Miami: NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-468, 2001), p 70. [18] J.A. Bohnsack et al. 1994. Fisheries Trends from Monroe County, Florida. Bulletin of Marine Science 54:982-1018 [19] J.S Ault (Pers. Comm., 2004) [20] W.L. Kruczynski and F. McManus, “Water Quality Concerns in the Florida Keys: Sources, Effects, and Solutions,” in The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. J.W. Porter and K.G. Porter, eds. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002), pp. 827-881. [21] B.D. Causey, “The Role of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative,” in The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. J.W. Porter and K.G. Porter, eds. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002), pp. 883-894