The Marine Resource Office is committed to addressing boating impacts associated with unmanaged anchorages in the Florida Keys. Numerous studies have been completed to document the problem and provide potential management strategies including the creation of managed anchorages and public mooring fields.
Programs & Studies
As a method of addressing boating impacts associated with unmanaged anchorages in the Florida Keys, Monroe County is working on an initiative to develop and manage a system of public mooring fields. The intent is to eliminate abandoned and derelict vessels, ensure compliance with the Clean Vessel Act, minimize benthic damage, and provide a safe, secure harbor for transient and long-term recreational vessels.
Boca Chica Basin
Monroe County commissioned Coastal Systems to study the feasibility of using the Boca Chica Basin as the site of the public managed mooring field. This report presents the results of that study including bathymetry and marine resource surveys, conceptual design of the mooring field, assessment of a shoreside support facility, and environmental regulatory agency discussions on impacts and mitigation.
Reference Documents