Dry Tortugas America's First True Ocean Wilderness Site

The Ocean Conservancy
Monday, 30 July 2001

Management plan signed today will make it official

WASHINGTON, DC - Friday, Gail Norton, Secretary of the Interior cleared the way for the completion of the largest no-take, marine reserve in the U.S. establishing America's first true Ocean Wilderness area and the third largest coral reef protected area in the world – The Dry Tortugas.

The final action taken today by Norton fully protects an adjacent area within the Dry Tortugas National Park putting into action a management plan that will ensure protection for this truly world-class reserve, comprised of nearly 200 square nautical miles of amazing marine environment.

"This process has been an amazing cooperative effort among various government entities. The decision to protect this area for present and future generations is a truly precedent-setting achievement," said Nancy Klingener, Program Manager, for The Ocean Conservancy.

The Tortugas, a remote area about 70 miles west of Key West, boasts a relatively pristine ocean environment with clear, blue waters, extensive coral reefs, fish, sharks, lobsters, and other marine life. Until recently, the area's remoteness and a prohibition on commercial fishing inside Dry Tortugas National Park provided some protection from over-exploitation. However, fishing pressure from commercial vessels outside the national park and recreational users throughout the area have increased dramatically in recent years. Declining fish populations throughout the Keys, improved navigation, and more efficient gear have all added up to fewer fish, and damage to the Tortugas ecosystem.

"The Tortugas Ecological Reserve is crucial to the protection of Florida's most important marine wilderness and is being viewed throughout the world as a blueprint for protecting our oceans in the future," said David White, Director of The Ocean Conservancy's Florida Regional Office.

The Tortugas Ecological Reserve is expected to provide tangible, long-term benefits to recreational and commercial fishermen. The Tortugas are one of the most important spawning areas for reef fish in the southeastern United States. Groupers, snappers, spiny lobsters, and other valuable species reproduce in the Tortugas. Ocean currents return some of the offspring back to the Tortugas and sweep others as far north as Georgia, helping to sustain fisheries and ecosystems throughout the Keys and beyond.

"Research by The Ocean Conservancy and others has demonstrated that currents connecting the Tortugas to the Florida Keys and southeast coast deliver larvae from the Tortugas to these areas," said Jack Sobel, Director of Ecosystem Programs for The Ocean Conservancy. "Today's decision to protect the Tortugas will not only benefit the immediate areas, but could help restore degraded reefs and depleted fish populations throughout the Keys and elsewhere," added Sobel.

The adjacent coral reefs contain plants and animals not found elsewhere in the Keys. In fact, the ecological and economical benefits are so great that the Tortugas Ecological Reserve has been referred to as the "savings bank" for local fishermen. Friday, Norton added that the management plan would "protect unique natural treasures above and below the sea," for future generations.

For more information, or to contact The Ocean Conservancy, see their website at: www.oceanconservancy.org