Team OCEAN is an education and information service that protects Sanctuary resources while enriching the experience of visitors to the Florida Keys.

Team OCEAN is an on-the-water education and information program aimed at protecting the natural marine resources of the Florida Keys, while enriching the experiences of visitors to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It involves the stationing of trained volunteer teams at heavily visited reef sites throughout the Keys during peak recreational boating seasons in order to educate and inform other boaters about the unique nature of the coral reef habitat, share their knowledge of the best approach to certain areas, demonstrate the use of a mooring buoy, and give out various safety information.

We are often looking for additional volunteers to join the program. Individuals may be trained for one or more of the following positions:

• operators for government boats
• interpreters/educators

A comprehensive, keys wide database of over 400 waterfront and visitor related businesses such as dive shops, hotels, and marine supply stores have been developed. Team OCEAN staff regularly visit each of these businesses to distribute Sanctuary educational materials and serve as liaisons between the businesses and the Sanctuary program. These visits allow the business owners to ask questions, air their views, and discuss any needs or issues. Team OCEAN staff also distribute information packets to rental boat facilities throughout the keys, the same packets that Team OCEAN volunteers are distributing on the water. The disbursal of these packets to rental boat businesses helps to enhance the numbers of boaters having access to Sanctuary information.

In Monroe County the number of registered boats increased by approximately thirty percent from 2000 to 2005. During this time, the number of visitors participating in boating activities has also been on the increase. With so many more boaters on the water, the number of boating incidents and groundings is also on the rise. In 1993, the most recent year for which statistics are available, an aerial study of Monroe County revealed that 15,000 acres of seagrass beds have been moderately to severely damaged from boat prop scarring and hundreds of yards of coral are damaged each year from boat groundings.

In response to the increase of boating activity, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has introduced a new boater education program. The program consisting of a video, sticker, and checklist was funded using a portion of the proceeds from the sale of manatee and Florida panther license plates through the Florida Advisory Council on Environmental Education.

Target audiences for the program are visitors to Sanctuary booths at festivals and special events, interpretive program participants, and rental boat customers. The goals of the program are to instill stewardship towards the resources, teach navigation to prevent resource damage, and minimize damage that occurs when removing grounded vessels.

An eight minute video, “Protecting Paradise- Florida Keys Safe Boating Tips” is available to rental boat businesses in Monroe County to be viewed by their customers during the pre-trip orientation. The video provides information consistently to every viewer and addresses four main points: ecological importance of seagrass beds and coral reefs; damage that occurs when a vessel runs aground; safe navigation of these areas, and proper procedures to minimize resource damage when removing a grounded vessel.

A weather and salt resistant four by six inch sticker is also distributed to rental boat companies and the general public for placement on boats traveling the Florida Keys. Illustrations and explanations of navigational aids are displayed on the sticker, as well as instructions for minimizing resource damage during removal of a grounded vessel.

For more information, email the Program Coordinator for the Upper Keys or phone at (305) 852-7717 ext. 39, or email the Program Coordinator for the Middle and Lower Keys or phone at (305) 292-0311 ext. 230.