Florida Keys Diving

Key Largo offers world class diving, snorkeling and technical diving in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. All our reef diving is conducted within SPA's such as Carysfort, Key Largo Dry Rocks, Grecian Rocks, French and Molasses

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) Info courtesy of NOAA & The FKNMS

The National Marine Sanctuary Program totals 18,00 square miles of marine and Great lakes waters in thirteen underwater parks from Washington State to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron to American Samoa. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ocean Service has managed National Marine Sanctuaries since 1972. The National Marine Sanctuary Program works cooperatively with its partners and the public to ensure long term conservation of this unique and fragile resource. Increasing public awareness of our marine heritage whilst allowing managed access for leisure and tourism, coupled with scientific research, monitoring, exploration, educational programs, and outreach are just a few of the roles of the National Marine Sanctuary Program.

The Florida Keys possess the most important marine environment in the US in terms of natural beauty and natural resources. Located on the Southern tip of the Florida peninsula starting at Key Biscayne and ending just 90 miles North of Cuba at the 'Southernmost point,' The Keys are an island chain spanning over 126 miles and fringed 6 miles seaward by North Americas only living coral barrier reef and the third largest in the world after Australia and Belize. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary consists of 2,800 square nautical miles surrounding the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Shipwrecks

The Florida Keys have been an important shipping route for hundreds of years encompassing a broad historical range from the European Colonial Period to the Modern Era. Because of the Keys’ strategic location on early European shipping routes, the area’s shipwrecks reflect the history of the entire period of discovery and colonization. The unique geological history of the Florida Keys with its treacherous shallow and hidden reef, set the stage for a colorful human history. Shoals, sand flats, storms, and the coral reef itself have stymied many navigators through the centuries, and taken their toll on many ships. Since the 1500's over 800 documented shipwrecks have occurred around the reefs and sand flats of the Florida Keys. These vessels, which now rest upon the ocean floor, carried a wide variety of cargoes throughout the centuries, cargoes that ranged from settlers, slaves, and soldiers, to merchandise and treasure. During the early twentieth century the "wreckers" of the keys salvaged virtually everything they could find, leaving behind little original wrecks. These wrecks and the stories that surround them give the Keys a rich and exciting maritime culture. In addition to the human aspect, these shipwrecks, often referred to as "windows to the past" also serve as artificial reefs, providing an anchor and abode for the brilliant and diverse life that inhabits these waters.

Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPA's)
SPA's are identified by yellow marker buoys. These areasfocus on the protection of shallow, heavily used reefs where conflicts occur between user groups, and where concentrated visitor activity leads to resource degradation. They are designed to enhance the reproductive capabilities of renewable resources, protect areas critical for sustaining and protecting important marine species, and reduce user conflicts in high-use areas. They have been chosen based on the status of important habitat, the ability of a particular area to sustain and protect the habitat, the level of visitor use, and the degree of conflict between users. At Silent World, we dive in the main SPA areas between Carysfort Reef and Molasses reef.