Survey Photos

Additional Information

A small vessel 18ft long sank in the molasses reef specially protected area. This caused leakage of fuel and oil as well as detrimental debris scattered throughout the reef.

cigarette butts and fishing poles and an entire 18 foot boat

Comments and Feedback

To the people fishing last night on a Marine Sanctuary. I don't often share mean-spirited things on social media, but I was so saddened by what I saw today, I will make an exception. I was happy to see that karma was real today. That the boat you used to fish illegally was taken away from you by Mother Nature. However, I was heartbroken to see that the karma was instant. That your boat now sits at the bottom of our marine preservation area. Following hurricane Irma, and one of the warmest summers yet, the last thing Molasses Reef needed was more stress. Yet now your oil is mixing with the salt water, as your cigarette butts and plastic debris float by, your fishing line entangles delicate corals, and your face up boat crashes on a coral head with every wave. I am saddened to see that you obviously view marine sanctuaries as punitive, not as protective measures for you and the ocean, as they are intended. Without the boundaries and limitations of our marine sanctuaries our exploitation of the ocean could be endless, and the animals you use for your meals, or your income, would have no haven to reproduce and refresh in. In the time since Irma we have been marveling and celebrating the adaptability and strength of the Keys community. Shouldn't we be celebrating the same things in regards to our marine community? Shouldn't we be taking care of and supporting the animals and ecosystem that too lost so much in the storm, and encourage the quick resilience we see them exhibiting? Shouldn't we be Keys Strong on both land and sea? - Shayna Cohen

This Boat sunk and our team salvaged the debris