The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is the largest protection measure for the coral reef in the Florida Keys. In the late 1980s there was a high rate of large vessel groundings on the reef, causing alarm in the diving community and beyond. Lots of coral was destroyed by the groundings, and this added to the growing concern over polluted waters washing over the coral and in Florida Bay created the drive for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

In fact, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary covers ground that’s already protected by other, smaller sanctuaries. Divers just need to know to look for yellow marker balls, which designate Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs). Inside the SPAs, there is no anchoring, and it’s a no-take zone.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary also designates research-only areas on the reef, located at Looe Key, Conch Reef, Tennessee Reef, and Eastern Sambo. You cannot dive the marked areas at these spots.

Areas designated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary also include Ecological Reserve areas, which have the tightest rules yet. These areas are located at Western Sambo in Key West, and at Dry Tortugas.

Bahia Honda State Park is one of the most famous parks in the Florida Keys. Prized for its campsites with gorgeous sunset views, it’s been written up in dozens of travel magazines. Ten miles out to sea on the ocean side, likes Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. This is one of the most beautiful dive spots in the Florida Keys. There are 70 mooring buoys at this spot, to accommodate the divers and snorkelers who visit.

Depths at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary range from five to 70 feet. Diving here is at the novice level. There is lots of different types of structure here, including sandy bottom, large overhangs, tall coral colonies, and remains of a wreck that include only a chain and some ballast.

Part of the reef at Looe Key is a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). That means, among other things, no anchoring. Use the mooring buoys. The deepest areas are buoys 50-70. The current will be strongest here, too.

The main coral reef that starts in Biscayne National Park ends at the Dry Tortugas, Fort Jefferson National Monument is the park that protects this western area of the reef, as well as the historic fort and the tiny islands inside the park. Fort Jefferson National Monument is accessible only by boat or by seaplane, with regular trips from Key West.

Scuba diving and snorkeling are excellent at Fort Jefferson or Dry Tortugas, and you can combine your trip with a visit to the Civil War-era fort. It takes the excursion boats a few hours to get to Fort Jefferson from Key West, since it’s 80 miles out.

The Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary protects a lot of the areas the Pennekamp was originally meant to cover. Pennekamp State Park can only protect so much, so the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary covers lots of the popular dive spots in the area, which were left unprotected by a Supreme Court ruling in 1974. It extends out to the 300-foot depths, providing a buffer zone for the coral reef.

Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary provides patrols, reef reports, mooring buoys, underwater photo contests, videos, research, monitoring, and educational programs.

MM 102.5 Oceanside

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was created in 1960 through efforts of its namesake during the 1950s. The park stretches from the Ocean Reef area in upper Key Largo, to Rodriquez Key, just south of Key Largo. From shore, it goes out six miles to the reef and of course includes the main reef within its boundaries.

Key Largo has an extensive network of flats areas around the island, and shallow water makes for easy underwater viewing. Key Largo is also closer to the Gulf Stream than other parts of the Florida Keys, so the water is clearer more of the time. Key Largo is also one of the larger keys in the chain of islands, and therefore provides more protection for flats, coral and marine life in general.

The Park has a dive center, but there are also private dive boats that take divers out to the coral reef in Key Largo. The marina inside John Pennekamp State Park has regular trips out to the reef, morning or afternoon to the most popular spots. These include:

• Christ of the Abyss
• French Reef
• Molasses Reef
• The Benwood

All the above dives are less than sixty feet in depth. If you haven’t gone scuba diving in the last three years, you will have to take a refresher course.

Scuba diving in the Florida Keys brings all kinds of wonders and excitement, like shipwrecks, the coral reef, caves, and endless varieties of tropical fish. The Keys are one of the top diving destinations in the world, and no wonder: the year-round sunny warm weather, the 200 miles of coral reef, the clear water, especially in Key Largo, and all the dive companies ready to take you out to see the Silent World. Hundreds and hundreds of divers from all over the world visit the Florida Keys every year, just for scuba diving alone. From one-day resort courses to advanced dive trips to the deeper wrecks, the Florida Keys has it all for your diving vacation.

In the Florida Keys you’ll also find ever-present signs of conservation and preservation of the precious coral reef. There are numerous Marine Parks which seek to protect the reef and also to allow divers to enjoy it at the same time. With the increase in tourism and diving in the past fifty years, marine parks have become an essential part of life in the Keys. Long gone are the days when people used dynamite to blow up parts of the reef to gather pieces of coral to sell to tourists! Now it’s forbidden to take any coral, there are limits on fishing, and there are no-take zones called Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs) up and down the Florida Keys.

John Pennekamp was a leader in the 1950 coral reef conservation movement, and it’s through his efforts that the first marine park was created. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is one of the top visited dive centers in the Florida Keys today.

Learn about the other marine parks by clicking below. They range from Key Largo out to the Dry Tortugas, so no matter where you go in the Florida Keys, there’s one to visit.