COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT:

Civil Air Patrol assists in locating buoys in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

October 2017

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary received an assist from the Civil Air Patrol to find buoys missing or displaced due to Hurricane Irma. The aerial photographs will guide sanctuary managers in replacing important informational buoys and mooring balls in protected areas.

Marker buoys are used to delineate Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Special-use Research Only Areas, Wildlife Management Areas and sites on the Shipwreck Trail. The sanctuary also provides nearly 500 mooring buoys as an alternative to anchoring, which can break and damage coral.

aerial view of A boat ties up to a mooring buoy — A boat ties up to a mooring buoy at the Benwood shipwreck after Hurricane Irma. Credit: Cesar Hernandez, Civil Air Patrol

aerial view of a boat tied to a mooring buoy — A mooring buoy stayed in place during Hurricane Irma on this section of coral reef in the Upper Florida Keys. Credit: Cesar Hernandez, Civil Air Patrol

aerial view of Spar buoys in the water — Spar buoys remain after Hurricane Irma to indicate this area in the Upper Florida Keys is too shallow for boats. Credit: Cesar Hernandez, Civil Air Patrol