[Coral-List] 82 Corals Status Review under the US Endangered Species Act (Dave Vaughan)

[Eugene Shinn]

A slight correction to the posting by David Vaughan, John Pennekamp 
Coral Reef State Park was created to stop spear fishing. It had 
little to do with saving coral although Dr. Gill Voss at the 
University of Miami had been calling for coral protection for several 
years. Coral had not achieved the status it now enjoys. In fact there 
was a period of time before 1960, when all state waters (3 mile 
limit) in the Keys were off-limits for spear fishing. There was 
literally a war going on between commercial charter boat 
fishermen/lobster fishermen and spear fishermen at that time. The 
state supreme court rescinded that law after it was legally 
challenged by some spear fishing lawyers. I recall the problem with 
the law was that since it was legal to spear fish beyond state waters 
one had to break a law (by transporting spears across state waters) 
in order to engage in a legal act. That all changed in 1975 when the 
federal water seaward of Pennekamp boundaries became the Key Largo 
National Marine Sanctuary. The federal area was enforced by State 
agents through an arrangement with NOAA. I was aboard the boat 
representing USGS when John Pennekamp and Bob White, Head  of NOAA 
,signed the document that created KLNMS. Gene
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No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
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E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158---------------------------------- 
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