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Looe Key

                 

The Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary is a 5.3 square nautical mile area lying in Federal waters off the southern Florida Keys, and was designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1981.  The Looe Key Reef is nearly a mile long with a U-shaped pattern. 

Coral reefs such as Looe Key are among the most biologically productive ecosystems. They provide the foundation for a rich population of plant and animal life that depends on the reefs for shelter, food, and a place to attach and grow. The excellent water clarity and moderate sea conditions at Looe Key permit its features and inhabitants to be easily observed from the surface. The wide range in depth also makes the reefs accessible to the beginning swimmer and the inexperienced diver. Brightly colored fish can be seen swimming among the branching elkhorn and staghorn corals, huge brain corals, the less common pillar coral as well as the delicate sea fans and sea whips.  Marine life here truly is fantastic... add barracuda, brain coral, goliath grouper, grunts, parrotfish, rays, sea fans, sea turtles, spiny lobster, sponges, reef sharks, yellowtail, etc. to what you'll see... and you'll know why the sanctuary is a highly popular attraction for skin-diving. snorkeling, fishing (strictly only outside the big yellow ball boundaries of the sanctuary) and boating. The remains of the H.M.S. Looe, which sank in 1744, and for which the sanctuary is named, still lie within its boundaries.

Several different types of reefs and associated habitats are found at Looe Key. Each area has a distinctive identity imparted by its form and features.

(Excerpts from National Marine Sanctuary literature.)

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