Florida Keys Scuba Diving
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When it comes to scuba diving and snorkeling, the Florida Keys unlock an underwater paradise. Here, you'll find the longest living coral reef in the western hemisphere; more than 500 wrecks to explore; the world's first underwater hotel, more dive shops per square mile than anywhere else in the world; and crystal clear waters with visibility up to 120 feet -- it's no wonder that divers from all over the world come to the Florida Keys. So come on down and explore the underwater majesty of the Florida Keys. Be prepared to stay a little longer than you had expected. 


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Few marine environments in the U.S. compare to the Florida Keys in terms of natural beauty and natural resources. The most extensive living coral reef in the United States is adjacent to the 126 mile island chain of the Florida Keys. The Keys are located on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, beginning just south of Key Biscayne and ending just 90 miles north of Cuba. These coral reefs are intimately linked to a marine ecosystem that supports one of the most unique and diverse assemblages of plants and animals in North America. The 2,800 square nautical mile Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) surrounds the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cultural resources are also contained within the sanctuary. The proximity of coral reefs to centuries old shipping routes has resulted in a high concentration of shipwrecks and an abundance of artifacts.

This complex marine ecosystem also supports tourism and commercial fishing, the economic foundation of the Florida Keys. In the last 20 years the tourism industry has grown to over four million domestic and foreign visitors who drive, fly or cruise each year to the most accessible tropical paradise in the Caribbean Basin. The Keys support 82,000 full-time residents. Tourists and semi-permanent residents increase this population by 75% during "season" (November to April). This ecosystem's extensive nursery, feeding and breeding grounds also support a multi-million dollar commercial fishing industry that lands nearly 20 million pounds of seafood and marine products annually.

In response to a growing awareness of the intrinsic environmental and cultural value of our coastal waters, Congress created the National Marine Sanctuary Program in 1972. The National Marine Sanctuary Act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate specific areas as National Marine Sanctuaries to promote comprehensive management of their special ecological, historical, recreational, and esthetic resources. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management is responsible for management of the nation's Marine Sanctuaries. There are currently twelve National Marine Sanctuaries established in areas where the natural or cultural resources are so significant that they warrant special status and protection.

The Florida Keys is just such an area. North America's only living coral barrier reef and the third longest barrier reef in the world (following Australia and Belize) lies about six miles seaward of the Florida Keys (a 220-mile long string of islands extending south and west of the Florida mainland), making it a unique national treasure of international notoriety. Coral reefs contain more varieties of life than any other marine environment. They are part of a fragile interdependent ecosystem that includes mangroves and seagrasses that grow both on the ocean and bay side of the Florida Keys. In recognition of this important environment, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was created in 1990. The Sanctuary consists of 2,800 square nautical miles (9,500 square kilometers) of coastal and oceanic waters, and the submerged lands thereunder, surrounding the Florida Keys, and extending westward to encompass the Tortugas islands, but excluding the Dry Tortugas National Park. The shoreward boundary of the Sanctuary is the mean high-water mark. Within these waters are spectacular, unique, and nationally significant marine environments, including seagrass meadows, mangrove islands, and extensive coral reefs. These marine environments support rich biological communities possessing extensive conservation, recreational, commercial, ecological, historical, research, educational, and aesthetic values that give this area special national significance. These environments are the marine equivalent of tropical rain forests in that they support high levels of biological diversity, are fragile and easily susceptible to damage from human activities, and possess high value if properly conserved.

Information from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

 

 

Meterologic and Oceanographic Information:

National Weather Service-Key West, The National Weather Service, Internet Weather Service

Marine Forecasts

  • NWS Radiofax information for the Gulf of Mexico and Tropical Atlantic

 

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