Dozens of community members gathered at the Blake Library in Martin County to rally support for protecting the Oculina Bank, a rare deep-water coral reef located just off the coast of Fort Pierce. The reef, found hundreds of feet below the surface, is home to more than 2,000 marine species and exists nowhere else on Earth. Unlike most coral that needs shallow sunlight to survive, the Oculina Bank thrives in deep, dark waters.
In January, the federally-appointed South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council voted to reopen more than 24 square nautical miles of the reef to shrimp trawling, an area larger than the island of Manhattan. The decision came despite tens of thousands of petition signatures opposing the move and warnings from scientists that trawling destroyed as much as 90% of the reef before federal protections were put in place decades ago. Mark Perry, Executive Director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said he was devastated by the council's decision to amend protections they had approved decades earlier.
Dr. Grant Gilmore, a scientist who previously dived the rare reef, explained the ecological importance of the coral system. The reef provides both habitat and food for fish populations, and Gilmore warned that removing the coral eliminates the foundation for marine life in the area. Perry added that corals grow very slowly and have been there for a long time, emphasizing that coral reefs worldwide are already in trouble and no more should be destroyed.
The proposal is now with NOAA, which will make the final decision. The agency is expected to release draft rules within the coming months, giving the public one more opportunity to weigh in before officials decide whether to move forward. Activists are urging residents to write letters to their congressmen and others who might influence the decision to protect the reef.