[Coral-List] 82 Corals Status Review under the US Endangered Species Act

[Curtis Kruer]

".....very involved, open, and public process culminating in the
implementation of any regulatory modifications, additions, or eliminations
in 2015."

Dave - is this correct?  No changes will be made to the FKNMS Management
Plan until 2015?, 3 years from now?

Curtis Kruer
Coastal Resources Group

 

-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Dave Vaughan
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2012 12:02 PM
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] 82 Corals Status Review under the US Endangered
Species Act

The following are some correct dates and information from the previous
comments:

*Correct Dates:*
(see links at: http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/history.html)
"Warning signs about the fragile and finite nature of marine resources in
the Florida Keys were present long before Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary was established. In 1960, to address the demise of coral reefs in
the Keys, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was established off Key Largo
as the world's first underwater park. 
Continued environmental degradation prompted the eventual designation of Key
Largo National Marine Sanctuary in 1975 and Looe Key National Marine
Sanctuary in 1981.

Throughout the 1980s, oil drilling proposals, reports of deteriorating water
quality, and evidence of declines in the health of the coral reef ecosystem
continued to mount. These threats, combined with several large vessel
groundings, prompted Congress to act. On November 16, 1990, President George
H. Bush signed into law the bill establishing Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary. This new sanctuary incorporated the preexisting Key Largo and
Looe Key sanctuaries to protect 2,800 square nautical miles of Florida Keys
waters."

With the designation of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, several
protective measures were immediately put into place, such as prohibiting oil
exploration, mining, or any type of activity that would alter the seafloor
and restricting large shipping traffic. Also, anchoring on, touching, and
collecting coral were all restricted within sanctuary waters.

*First Managment Plan*
The passage of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act
<http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/about/fknmsp_act.html> in 1990 also called for
the development of a comprehensive management plan. A set of public scoping
meetings, followed by a series of workshops, collected input from federal,
state, and local interests holding knowledge of sanctuary problems. These
meetings, workshops, and extensive public input laid the foundation for the
sanctuary management plan
<http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/mgmtplans/welcome.html> that was ultimately
implemented in July 1997.

*Your Chance to INPUT *
(You can give your input, concerns and suggestions at: 
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/process.html)

The review <http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/welcome.html> of the marine
zone boundaries and regulations of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
will be a very involved, open, and public process culminating in the
implementation of any regulatory modifications, additions, or eliminations
in 2015.

The process will involve proactively reaching out to members of the
community to gather input
<http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/public-input.html>, weighing collected
information against the best available science, and developing
recommendations that will allow the sanctuary to meet the goals and
objectives <http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/goals.html> of the review.

 From there, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council
<http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/sac/welcome.html> will develop recommendations
for NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to consider, and staff will assess
the environmental impacts of any modifications or additions to sanctuary
regulations. Finally, any changes to marine zone regulations or boundaries
will be adopted and implemented.

This is your chance to make suggestions and improvements!

Dave Vaughan
(Be part of the solutions, not just the complaints)





On 6/1/2012 10:44 AM, Phil Dustan wrote:
> Coral Listers,
>   And the really sad thing is since the NOAA Sanctuaries were 
> instituted in the Florida Keys (1975 for Key Largo, 1981 for Looe Key, 
> and 1990 for FKNMS, 2000 for Dry Tortugas) the reefs have lost over 
> 92% of their living coral cover.  The reefs have all but lost their 
> ecological integrity and now NOAA wants to mandate corals as 
> endangered. But we still allow recreational and commercial fishing 
> throughout the vast majority of the area and even permit folks to
spearfish using SCUBA.
> Go figure.........
>      Phil
>
> On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 8:21 PM, Christopher
Hawkins<chwkins at yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>    
>> Hello Gene (and all):
>>
>> I share some of the frustrations. With regard to your question:
>>
>> "And  finally, why is National Marine Fisheries involved with coral 
>> protection, especially within NOAA Marine Sanctuaries where all 
>> corals are already protected?"
>>
>> The petition to list the 82 coral coral species was brought via the U.S.
>> Endangered Species Act. The legislation directs that the U.S. Fish 
>> and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are 
>> the two entities tasked with evaluating a species-listing petition 
>> and recommending action/no action. NMFS handles almost all marine 
>> species petitions (there are a few exceptions).
>>
>> Best,
>> Chris
>>