The Key West Marine Park is made possible by

The Key West Marine Park is operated by the City ofKey West in cooperation with Reef Relief, a grassrootsnon-profit membership organization dedicated toPreserve and Protect Living Coral Reef Ecosystems.Be a Sea Fan! Join Reef Relief for as little as $30/year.Visit the Reef Relief Environmental Center & Gift Storeat the Historic Seaport – foot of William St. in Key West

For information contact:

City of Key West – (305) 294-3721525 Angela St., Key West, FL 33040

or

(305) 294-3100or write to P.O. Box 430, Key West, FL 33041

www.reefrelief.org

Photographs from Key West Marine Park by Craig Quirolo, Reef Relief

A publication funded in part by the Florida Department of CommunityAffairs, Florida Coastal Management Program, pursuant to National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA 170Z1118. The viewsexpressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect theviews of the State of Florida, NOAA or any of its subagencies. September, 2002.

Printed on Recycled Paper

The Key West Marine Park is partof Florida’s coral reef ecosystem and is considereda hard bottom/soft coral communitywith a variety of hard and soft corals, sponges,and seagrasses. These shallow waters provide anursery groundand breeding areafor numerous fishand sealife thatlater migrate tothe offshore coralreefs. Corals aredelicate structurescomposed of tinys l o w - g r o w i n ganimals calledcoral polyps. TheKey West MarinePark is home to several hard corals such as rose,mustard hill and finger corals that have a hardcalcareous exoskeleton and soft corals, such as seafans, sea whips, and sea rods without exoskeletons thatsway in the ocean currents and filter the ocean water.

Seagrasses are flowering marine plants that arean important part of the coral reef ecosystem. Theyfilter the water by trapping sediments, release oxygeninto the water and stabilize the ocean bottom with theirroots. Many animals such as turtles, manatees, fish, seaurchins and sea cucumbers depend upon seagrasses forfood. Seagrasses are a nursery ground for pink shrimp,lobster, snapper and other sealife. Conch is a speciesof special concern in Florida. This mollusk thrives inseagrasses and the Queen Conch, known for itsbroad lipped shell, is the mascot of the Florida Keys. TheFlorida horse conch was once abundant aswell. All members of the mollusk family lack trueskeletons although some grow shells, and includesnails, sea hares, nudibranchs, squid, octopus, and seaslugs. They are found on the offshore reefs andsometimes in nearshore waters as well.

Sea Urchin and Coral

Queen Conch

This public underwater park has beenestablished to enhance protection forthe nearshore coral reef ecosystemand to provide for compatible use

by boaters, swimmers,and beach visitors

SOUTHERNMOSTOLD TOWN RESORTS

SOUTHERNMOST HOTELSOUTHERNMOST ON THE BEACH

LA MER & DEWEY HOUSE

Sponges are animalsthat filter the water forfood and oxygen. Theycome in many formssuch as barrel, vase,tube, ball, rope, andencrusting and growfrom one-half inch toover 6 feet. Many canbe found in the park.Sea anemones aremembers of the samefamily as jellyfish andcorals. Like corals, they have tentacles that areextended at night to feed that are usually hiddenduring the day. Pink tipped anemone can be found inthe park. Sea Jellies such as PortugeseMan-of-War are translucent purple jellyfish, withlong, thin tentacles that float on the surface. Beware,they are highly toxic and contact will produceredness, welts and blisters. Avoid any contact, either inthe water or on the shore.

Seastars, once calledstarfish, have a hardinternal skeleton andfive body sections(although there areexceptions) arrangedaround a central disc.Broken arms can beregenerated and somespecies can form a newanimal from a severedpart. Sea urchins

are covered with numerous spines that cover aspherical body. Avoid contact as the spines cause apainful wound.

Shrimp, lobsters, and crabs are crustaceans,members of the largest animal phylum, and each hasfive pairs of legs. Theyall have elaborate exo-skeletons, which theyshed by molting, toallow them to grow. Inthe Keys, spiny lobster,slipper lobster, bluecrabs, and Florida stonecrab are common asare various species ofother crabs and shrimp.

Barrel Sponge

Seastar

Lobster

Fish The Key West Marine Park is home to manyvarieties of fish. From the pier at Higgs Beach, a platformof beach rock forms most of the shoreline that sheltersmangrove and school master snapper and grunts. Gruntsproduced an unusual sound and are closely related tosnappers but are gen-erally smaller (normallybetween 12–18 inches).Snappers snap their jawswhen hooked. Yellowtailsnappers swim in looseschools while others aresolitary. At times, largeschools of baitfish suchas anchovies, silversidesand ballyhoo gather in

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The Key West Marine Parkis located on the oceanside of the

island of Key West, Florida, from DuvalStreet to the White Street Pier.

The three buoyed areas are for swimmingand snorkeling and are closed to motorized

vessels. For boaters, there are twoaccess lanes to the shoreline.

KEY WESTKEY WESTMARINE

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Grunts

Threats Corals and seagrassesneed clean clear nutrient-freetropical ocean waters to thrive anda great deal of sunlight to grow, sogood water quality is essential totheir survival. Turbidity, sedimen-tation and pollution reduce theseconditions. Algal blooms caused byexcess nutrients stress slow growingcorals and seagrasses, reduceoxygen, and inhibit photosynthesis.Poor water quality also promotescoral diseases. The harvest of coraland live rock destroys reefs. Risingsea temperatures cause coralbleaching, stressing corals that

expel their symbiotic algae. Storms and hurricaneswreak extensive damage. Corals are the canaries in thecoal mine for our planet’s health.

Overharvesting of fish and other sealife upsets thedelicate balance of life and maximum sustainableyields for many species have been exceeded. Destructivefishing techniques damage reef habitat. Anchorsdropped on reefs, accidental boat groundings, propellordredging, and diver/ snorkeler impacts from fins,hands, equipment or standing on corals can crushfragile coral polyps. Marine debris, especially plasticsand monofilament line, damages corals and is deadlyfor birds, fish and turtles that become entangled in it oringest it. Seagrass die-offs affect fish and other sealifethat cannot survive in such conditions. Do your part toprotect our coral reef ecosystem.

Public Access: The public can access the Key WestMarine Park from four locations: South Beach at thesouthern end of Duval St., Dog Beach at the end ofVernon Street, the Mary and John SpottswoodWaterfront Park at the foot of Seminole Street, andHiggs Beach from Reynolds Street to White Street.

Swim Zones: These are areas designed to provide a safeswimming and snorkeling experience without danger frommotorized vessels. Stay within these zones for maximumsafety. These are excellent areas to learn how to snorkel andbecome familiar with snorkeling equipment before heading tothe offshore reefs. The swim lane off of Higgs Beach is a goodsnorkeling area, but please avoid standing on the bottomwhich is home to marine life.

Motorized Vessel Access Lanes: There aretwo areas designated within the park to provideaccess and egress to the shoreline for all motorizedvessels. Stay well within these lanes whenapproaching or leaving the shoreline of the park.

the rocks. To the west, the shorelinechanges to a sandy beach wherejuvenile permit, a small roundschooling silver fish, can be found.In deeper water and along theseawalls and jetties are yellow andblack striped Sargent Major, threespot damsel fish, porcupine fish,trunkfish, and queen angelfish.Beginning 50 yards from shore,colorful parrotfish, snappers, porgiesand multitudes of grunts gathernear sponges, sea fans and corals.Elongated needlefish, small barra-cuda and at times, young tarponswim through the area as well.

These Rules Apply to All Areas of the Park:• The Key West Marine Park is a voluntary no take zone; no

collecting, removing, injuring, or possessing any dead or livingmarine life including coral, live rock, fish, tropical fish,invertebrates, plant, conch, coral or live rock. No fishing,netting, or spearfishing of marine life. State law prohibits spearfishing within 200 feet of a public beach. It is illegal to collectQueen Conch.

• Don’t teach your trash to swim! Please dispose of all trash inreceptacles. No discharging or depositing trash or otherpollutants into the waters of the park.

• The park boundaries include the underwater cable from theWestern Union line that once provided communications betweenKey West and Cuba. Do not move, remove, injure, or possessthese or other historical resources within the park; they are foreveryone to enjoy!

• Please be a good boater; operating a vessel in a manner whichendangers life, limb, marine resources or property is prohibited.

• The demarcation buoys provide navigational aids to identifythe swim lanes and motorized vessel access lanes. Do notdamage or remove them. Report all missing buoys to Reef Relief(305)294-3100.

Prohibited Activities in Swim Zones:• Operating a motorized vessel within the

boundaries of the swim-only areas. Motorizedvessels must stay within the designated accesslanes. Do not operate a vessel propelled orpowered by an internal combustion enginewithin any of the no-motor swim zone areasidentified and marked by demarkation buoys.

• No anchoring within the swim zones; this area isdesignated for swimmers and snorkelers.

Prohibited Activities inVessel Access Lanes:• The access lanes are slow speed/no wake

areas. Do not operate a vessel at a speed inexcess of slow speed within either of the twodesignated access lanes

• No overnight mooring or anchoring in theaccess lanes, which are designed to allowvessels to approach and exit the park.

Snapper

Baitfish