Article
from the Environmental News Network
The Ocean Conservancy Applauds NOAA’s Protections of the Florida
Keys from Large International Ships
From Ocean Conservancy
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
announced today that it will provide additional protection to the Florida
Keys from the risks posed by thousands of large international ships that
pass through the area each year. The U.S. successfully applied to the
International Maritime Organization to have the waters around the Florida
Keys designated as a ‘Particularly Sensitive Sea Area’ or PSSA. The PSSA
designation is vital to help prevent additional damage to the Keys’
fragile coral reefs from ship groundings, collisions, anchoring and
discharges of harmful substances.
The boundaries of the 3,000 square nautical mile PSSA will now show up
on all international nautical charts. Included within the PSSA are four
‘Areas to be Avoided’ that prevent ships over 50 meters in length from
traveling too close to coral reefs, and three ‘no-anchoring’ zones. Over
the years, large ships grounding or anchoring on reefs have caused serious
damage to the area’s fragile corals. The Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary, which is included within the PSSA, was created in part to
shield the reefs from such damage.
“This international distinction is important for the Florida Keys, an
area that depends ecologically and economically on the health of the coral
reef ecosystem,” said Nancy Klingener, Florida Keys Program Manager of The
Ocean Conservancy. “It adds important reinforcements to the protections
already in place from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the
new Tortugas Ecological Reserve.”
The Ocean Conservancy hopes the Keys will once again set a national
precedent for marine protection.
“The successful pursuit of the PSSA designation demonstrates the
Administration’s commitment to protecting the valuable and vulnerable
coral reefs in the Florida Keys through both domestic and international
means,” noted Dr. Cheri Recchia, The Ocean Conservancy’s Director for
Marine Protected Areas. “We look forward to similar protections being
established for other sensitive areas, such as Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.”
The Florida Keys joins only four other Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas
in the world and represents the first such designation in United States
waters. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia; the Sabana-Camaguey
Archipelago, Cuba; Malpelo Island, Columbia; and the Wadden Sea, Northern
Europe are the other four areas.
- www.oceanconservancy.org
The Ocean Conservancy strives to be the world’s foremost advocate for
the oceans. Through science-based advocacy, research, and public
education, we inform, inspire and empower people to speak and act for the
oceans. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with more than 900,000 members
and volunteers The Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska,
California, Florida, and New England and field offices in Santa Barbara
and Santa Cruz, CA, Florida Keys, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the office
of Pollution Prevention and Monitoring in Virginia Beach, VA
For more information, contact:
Tom McCann
Media Relations Manager
The Ocean Conservancy
202-429-5609
tmccann@oceanconservancy.org
Web site: http://www.oceanconservancy.org
