Desantis rejects Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary’s management plan

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and a wide range of new management plans to address worsening conditions during work for more than a decade were rejected by Gov. Ron de Santis on Tuesday in response to complaints that would limit the state’s sovereignty.

Desantis said in a one-page letter that the plan failed to pave the way for artificial coral reefs in the state’s waters, and that Florida managed its own wildlife.

“As published, the rules and management plans abolish long-standing references to the sovereignty and right to control land within the state’s jurisdiction, as well as the state’s right to control marine life and sovereignty,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Luttonick.

Three separate notes attached to the letter reflected the complaints by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Environmental Protection and the Reconstruction Department.

“The last minute submission of the Biden administration’s (National Maritime Services) rules will resume with political motivation, rather than exemplifying real efforts to establish “enhanced coordination and cooperation,” Resilience Memo said.

But supporters say the plan, which hampered a period of public comment that produced dozens of community meetings and thousands of comments, has created much needed protection for the busy oceans where fish and coral reefs are fighting to survive. A fierce heat wave of 2024 caused extensive coral bleaching of the impaired coral reef, followed by the disappearance of more than 50 mysterious fish, including the endangered saw. Sawfish began dying again this winter.

“It was a really balanced plan we developed at the end of the day, and state agencies were deeply involved in the process,” said Kelly Cox, an advisory board member for Audubon, Florida and policy director for the Everglades. “So we were disappointed when we saw this outcome.”

The blueprint plan dates back to 2011 and continues to decline following reports of disastrous conditions that 20 years ago discovered that the sanctuary was being overseen by the National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration. Rather than in reverse conditions, a 108-page peer-reviewed study found that coral reefs and shallow sea grass flats along with at-risk sea turtles continued to be hammered by the booming birds and sportfish in South Florida.

“None of them were OK. Jerry Lorenz, a longtime member of the Sanctuary Advisory Council, said: “So that report was released in 2011 and that was where we could start talking about management plans.”

Public meetings, thousands of comments

Following dozens of public meetings and thousands of comments, Sanctuary officials announced their draft plans in 2019. Furthermore, after the revision, another draft plan was announced three years later.

At each stage, the Sanctuary Advisory Committee, which includes state officials, along with representatives from the Boat and Fisheries Association, was weighed.

“It was all stages. We were listening to sessions with the community that had a meeting in the afternoon and ended in the evening, so that the community came,” Lorenz said. “This is what people wanted.”

Last December, plans for another revised final version continued. Like other drafts, the final plan will expand the sanctuary boundary by 20% to just over 4,500 square miles, adding 20 new wildlife management areas, four habitat restoration areas and 11 new coral nursery. While around 95% of the sanctuary remains open to fishing, there are various regulations regarding the car and anchor to protect corals, shallow flats and nesting birds.

The final draft had a March deadline for the state to approve or reject the plan.

However, state officials had already warned that it was hindering the state’s rights. At the September Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee meeting at Key, former Wildlife Committee chair Robert Spottswood urged the committee to tell DeSantis to reject the plan as it became tedious to create artificial coral reefs in the state’s waters.

Spottwood also wanted the state and the US Army to maintain approval for the artificial reef without the sanctuary signing. They also wanted the state to retain ultimate jurisdiction over fishing regulations in coastal waters that have made the most difficult to develop, including contamination, heavy boating and development. And he said NOAA should pay more to the Wildlife Commission for police regulations in the expanded sanctuary.

If conditions are not met, he told the committee members that the state should not simply reject the blueprint, but also reject all sanctuary management rules for Florida waters.

“I know that’s a dramatic question, but I think these are the basic principles,” he said. “I think it’s hard to believe that FWC and the sanctuary can’t reach a commonality.”

Desantis’ decision disappoints council members

Desantis’ Tuesday’s rejection was not a complete surprise, but it’s still a shame for the advisory committee members who worked on the plan.

The fishing captain and Islamorada City Council member Steve Friedman said he was worried that the situation would continue to get worse.

“All stakeholders, especially the fishing community, were defending this at every stage,” he said. “This administration and the FWC had every opportunity to chime on things they didn’t like. They had every opportunity and didn’t do it until 13 hours.”

However, some people supported the governor’s move, saying they ousted protocols to cross the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, first to determine rules in the waters, including various fisheries councils.

“Many of us said we needed to get to the first fishery management protocol we did,” Captain Wilbenson said. “I have a carriage in front of the horse.”

For now, existing sanctuaries regulations remain for the state’s waters, which account for about 65% of the sanctuary. In a statement provided by a Sanctuary spokesman, the office said the new rules will help address increasing threats, including marine heat waves, coral diseases, enhanced hurricanes, recreational and commercial fishing and diving.

“We will continue to work with state agencies to protect this important area for years to come,” they said.

It is unclear whether the new management plan is part of its protection. Cox, a member of the advisory committee, said there is still a possibility of negotiating the contract.

“We hope this doesn’t take another decade and we can make a final decision if it goes well in the next few months,” she said. “This is what Keys need. This is what the community wants and we hope we can reach the finish line sooner than later.”

This story was originally published by WLRN Public Media and was shared in collaboration with the Martinez Room Initiative, founded by the Florida Climate Reporting Network, the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.