AD 2017 Q4

SIZE MATTERS
An accident of geography differentiates Key
Largo from other South Florida dive locales.
The island’s relatively large size (largo is Spanish
for “long”) obstructs the flow of turbid water
from its west side (Florida Bay and the Gulf of
Mexico) onto its reef during outgoing tides. And
the proximity of the reefs to the cleansing waters
of the Gulf Stream enhances visibility and nourishes
marine life.
CONSERVATION MATTERS
Having coral reefs this impressive and this close to
Miami (Key Largo is the northernmost of the Florida
Keys) meant dive tourism was there earlier than almost
anywhere else. In the late 1950s divers were towing
small boats to Key Largo to explore its reefs. Some
divers were even taking photos. My friend and mentor
Jerry Greenberg was among the first (see AlertDiver.
com/jerry_greenberg).
The queen angelfish is
among the Keys’ most
colorful reef dwellers.
A goliath grouper and
a nurse shark have an
unusual collision near the City of Washington shipwreck. Aquarius
Reef Base is an underwater habitat where scientists can work in
saturation. Entry is through an air hatch in which the reflections of
fish swimming below can be seen.
Writing in his seminal 1963 memoir Adventures of a
Reefcomber, Greenberg celebrated the establishment of
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in December 1960:
Fencing off this submarine wonderland as a park came
in the nick of time. Long regarded as an “oasis of the
ocean,” the reef came perilously close to being reduced
to an underwater desert. Curio collectors wantonly
uprooted acres of coral forest, while spearfishermen
butchered fish just for the sake of target practice.
Chunk by chunk and fish by fish the reef faced
systematic destruction at their hands. Only prompt
action by conservationists helped establish the reef as a
public preserve to safeguard its unique beauty.
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