Julie Cheon, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the sanctuary.
There’s quite a story about one of the buoys from the sanctuary recently.
Cheon said, “We have one that definitely won the travel award. So one of our boundary buoys from the Sand Key area was actually found washed up on the west coast of France. It’s about 4,500 miles from the location. Sand Key is about seven miles off Key West. So this one really went the distance. Somewhere along the line it broke free, was picked up by the currents, and just kept going. And apparently France was its destination. So we’re not exactly sure when it went missing. But it definitely took the scenic route. We actually had two folks, two good Samaritans over there, who reached out to us over the weekend and said, because they all have labels on them and phone numbers. And they called us up and left some voicemails. And so we got back to them, and yep, they found the buoy. One of them has taken it home at this point. It’s all good. And we’ve actually been joking around the office, but who will get assigned to retrieve it? We will have some social media posts coming up soon. So folks, check out our social media posts, because it’s pretty cool.”
How many different buoys are there?
Cheon said, “The one that washed up is a boundary marker that marks the boundary of Sand Key. And those are the larger yellow ones. They’re 36 inches, so they’re not designed to be tied up to the ones that, if you’re out on the reef, and you see the white and blue ones, those are the ones that are designated mooring buoys where you’re where you want to tie up to. So that’s what those are designated for. So the yellow just to show you, hey, you’re in a protected area, and the blue and white are to give you a great place to tie off to, so you don’t have to throw your anchor anywhere near the coral or the reefs, and we actually have 600 mooring buoys spread throughout the sanctuary.”
What’s happening with the sea urchins?
Cheon said, “This is really an exciting update. Out at horseshoe reef, about the middle of January, there was an out planting of sea urchins done. So we’ve been working with our partners through mission iconic reefs. In this case, the partner was sustainable ocean and reefs, they go by the acronym SOAR. Some people might be more familiar with that, and we’ve been reintroducing the long spine sea urchins, otherwise known as diadema, so they really play a remarkable role. They’re basically the reef’s cleaning crew. They graze upon the algae, and otherwise, the algae can grow over corals, or at least out compete the corals for space. It can also block the corals from getting the sunlight they need to survive. So they’re playing an important part, and this is something relatively new we’re working on, but we’re already seeing encouraging signs. So early observations show that the urchins are grazing within about 15 or so feet from where they were released. So they’re getting right to work, and they were strategically released in a particular area near the coral. So we’re very happy to see that progress, and this is really just a part of a larger research effort to better understand how the urchins move, what habitats they do best in, and how their presence can support coral growth and survival.”
Equipment is also needed and recently a piece of equipment was brought back to life, and now it needs a name.
Cheon said, “We had an ASV, an autonomous vehicle. It’s not very big. When I say autonomous vehicle, it’s about, I don’t know, three and a half feet long and about two feet wide, and it’s bright yellow, but it was out of service. ASV stands for Autonomous Surface Vehicle. It’s basically a small unmanned research boat, and unfortunately there was salt water intrusion, so we lost it to that way. And originally these cost about $25,000, so replacement would have taken a lot of time and funding, but instead our staff rolled up their sleeves and figured it out. NOAA corps officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Tara Anaya, she led an effort to diagnose and repair the system, despite the original manufacturer no longer being in business and documentation being really limited. I mean, she just certainly used her ingenuity on this one. She reverse engineered the system, cleaned the corrosion from the electronics, she replaced the key components, and she got it fully operational again for less than $200 and she used a lot of materials that we just had around the office. So it’s very, very cool. It’s now back on the water. It’s getting ready to collect that data that we need. What we use these things for is GPS mapping, depth measurements and imagery, and they work really well in the shallow areas where it’s hard for divers to even work. So it’s a great tool for us. So now that it’s up and running again, we’re kind of looking for a nickname for it, so we’re going to invite the public to submit ideas for a nickname. We’ll have it on our social media where you can submit your ideas, and we’ll have it on the website too, but just to give your folks a head up. Now they know what it does, they know it’s really bright yellow, you’ll see pictures on the social media and the website, and it’s very cool looking. So hopefully folks will give us some great nicknames for it.”
March is Seagrass Awareness Month. Why is seagrass so important here in the Florida Keys?
Cheon said, “It’s one of those things people don’t always notice, but it’s absolutely essential. The Sanctuary has about 1.5 million acres of sea grass. That’s actually larger than the state of Rhode Island, and it’s one of the largest contiguous sea grass systems anywhere in the world. And it does its little behind the scenes work every day. It stabilizes the sea floor. It helps keep the water clean by trapping sediment. It provides nursery habitat for fish and lobster, all kinds of creatures. And it also feeds wildlife, green sea turtles, manatees, it’s one of their foods of choice, so it really does a lot of work down there. And I know that coral reefs get all the glamor, and they’re all the sexy part of the habitat for a lot of people down here. And while those are incredibly important, seagrass is really one of the foundations that support everything else. So we really want to let people know how important that is.”
What are some of the biggest threats to seagrass right now, and what can people do to help?
Cheon said, “One of our biggest threats is actually one of our most preventable, and the threat is boat damage. We see more than 300 boat groundings reported each year in the sanctuary, and nearly 80% of those impact seagrass habitats. So while a lot of people think a prop scar is minor, it really isn’t. A single propeller cut can widen over time. The recovery is slow. In some cases, it can even take years or decades for that grass to fully come back. So on top of the other pressures we’re seeing like the warming water, the nutrient runoff and the coastal development, sea grass really has to deal with multiple stressors. Prevention is key, and so we can help prevent these boat groundings. So what I like to recommend to people is avoid the shallow flats when you can. Trim your motor up if you’re in the skinny water, and if you do run aground, please don’t power through it. That is the worst. That’s where the real damage typically occurs. Sometimes you run into it and there’s some damage, but when you try to power off, that’s absolutely when the worst damage occurs. So please turn your motor up and try to push off. Those small actions, they’ll make a big difference. When you protect the sea grass, you’re protecting the fisheries, the water quality, the reef. So we really want to accentuate that.”
What’s happening at the Eco Discovery Center lately?
Cheon said, “The Eco Discovery Center, it’s really been buzzing lately. We’re seeing more visitors come through the doors, and we’re also hosting more groups and meetings in the space. We have meeting space available, so that’s something people are starting to take advantage of. And for anyone who hasn’t been, it really is worth a visit. The exhibits are interactive. They give people a really engaging look at the Keys ecosystem. And one of the best parts is it’s completely free. So it is down in Key West, all the way down by past Truman annex, so it’s completely free. On Saturday, we have yoga with a mission and a view. So outdoors at the facility, you can come enjoy some yoga. You’ll be out there, adjacent to the water. And that’s Saturday, March 21 at 9am. It’s a great way to experience the space in a different way.”
The Explorer app is also helpful.
Cheon said, “It is a fantastic app that the sanctuary put together before my time. So I take no credit for it, but I’ve got to tell people about it, because it’s absolutely amazing. You download it on your phone, it’s absolutely free, and you can use it to plan your trip when you’re on land, but if you’re on the water, it will tell you if you’re near a protected area, and you can see what the regulations are in the area and what protections are in effect. So it’s the Explorer app. It works on Android. It works on iPhone. Check it out. Download it. Plan your trip. Use it on the water. It has all kinds of fantastic information on it.”
For more information, click here: https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/