Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and
Caribbean Region

Gray's Reef Information Sheet (pdf)

Florida Keys Information Sheet (pdf)

Flower Garden Banks Information Sheet (pdf)

A healthy reef ecosystem is key to a healthy marine environment and the office of the National Marine Sanctuary Southeast region includes three distinctive yet interconnected reef systems.

Each year, on the eight or ninth night after the August full moon, several different species of corals at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary release billions of pellet-sized polyps that soar to the surface in what is considered by many observers as the big event of coral spawning in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seventeen miles off Georgia is Gray's Reef which has one of the largest nearshore sandstone reefs in the southeastern United States. Sanctuary boundaries protect 17 square miles of open ocean. 

And the Florida Keys are internationally known for abundant fishing, numerous coral reefs, and historic underwater archaeological sites, and are a major tourist attraction.

Visit the regional site links to learn more about the Florida Keys, Gray’s Reef and the Flower Garden Banks national marine sanctuaries.

Contacts:

Billy D. Causey, Ph.D.
Regional Director
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
33 East Quay Road
Key West, Florida 33040
305.809.4670 (ex 234)
305.293.5011 (fax)
Billy.Causey@noaa.gov

Brian D. Keller, Ph.D.
Regional Science Coordinator
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
c/o Florida Institute of Oceanography
830 First Street South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 553-1201
(727) 553-1109 (fax)
Brian.Keller@noaa.gov

William Kiene, Ph.D.
Associate Science Coordinator
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
c/o Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
4700 Avenue U, Building 216
Galveston, TX 77551
409.621.5151 ext. 109
409.621.1316 (fax)
William.Kiene@noaa.gov

Sarah Fangman
Associate Science Coordinator
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
c/o Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary
10 Ocean Science Circle
Savannah, GA 31411
912.598.2428
912.598.2367 (fax)
Sarah.Fangman@noaa.gov

Resources:

Caribbean Connectivity: Implications for Marine Protected Area Management

Gulf of Mexico Science Forum Proceedings

Call to Action for Coral Reefs

Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region 2007 Accomplishments