**North America's Northern-Most Coral Reefs**

The East and West Flower Garden Banks are topographic features that rise
to within 60 feet of the water surface and are topped by assemblages of
reef-building corals and associated tropical and subtropical organisms.
The East Bank covers nearly 300 acres, the West Bank, 100 acres. They
are located 120 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, a hydrocarbon rich
area of the Gulf of Mexico.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.75in" height="1.4722222222222223in"}The
Squirrelfish is one of the common reef fish at the

Flower Garden Banks.

Over 170 species of fish and about 300 species of reef invertebrates
inhabit the banks. The colorful reefs and diversity of associated marine
life are unique for their location, far north of where the majority of
coral reefs are found. The East and West Flower Garden Banks are the
northern most coral reefs on the continental shelf of North America.
They were designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1992.

**Monitoring at the Flower Garden Banks**

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has long supported and been
involved in the intensive study of the Flower Garden Banks. Beginning in
the early 1970s, MMS initiated a program to monitor changes in coral
populations and growth, as well as to explore other factors associated
with these reefs.

A coordinated program of studies began with detailed mapping of the
banks and photographic surveillance of the coral reef communities. It
evolved into a program which described the

geological structure of the features and surrounding sediment,
characterized the physical oceanography, identified the biological
communities, and described processes such as current movement and
transport of sediment at the base of the banks. The effects of human
activities such as recreational SCUBA activities and anchoring have been
of interest as well.

Since 1994, the Flower Garden Banks Monitoring Program has been a
cooperative effort with equal funding provided by MMS and the National
Marine Sanctuary Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). The goal of the monitoring program is to address
concerns related to both gradual and punctuated degradation of these
unique offshore ecosystems. The monitoring effort is designed to:

-   Assess the health of the coral reefs;

-   Evaluate changes in coral population levels;

-   Measure coral and algae cover and growth rates; and

-   Investigate other community characteristics.

**Monitoring Methodology**

The monitoring program uses a 100 m^2^ study site for each bank and the
following:

-   Stratified random photographed transects to record areal coverage of
    coral and leafy algae.

-   Permanent 8m^2^ repetitive photograph stations to note long-term
    changes in coral coverage.

-   Permanent encrusting growth photograph stations to determine the
    growth and/or retreat rates for each coral station.

-   Video transects to show the general conditions of the coral
    community at each study site.

-   Accretionary (upward) growth measurements using sclerochronology
    (i.e., a method whereby cores are obtained from live coral colonies
    using a pneumatic drill attached to a compressor air scuba cylinder
    and growth is determined directly by measuring bands found in the
    coral skeletons.)

-   Water quality parameters using various data collecting tools.

-   Insolation (sunlight) and temperature measurements using underwater
    sensors and data loggers where sensors record hourly averages, 24
    hours per day and data from the loggers are recovered in the spring
    and fall.

**Monitoring Results**

Long-term monitoring of the Flower Garden Banks shows:

-   No significant changes in coral reef populations, cover, or
    diversity since quantitative surveys of the reefs began, with the
    exceptions of a punctuated algal presence detected during the 1998
    and 1999 monitoring surveys.

-   Recurring synchronous spawning of many sessile organisms.

-   Coral bleaching observed during summer monitoring.

-   Lease stipulations provide effective mitigation for potential
    impacts from oil and gas operations. The stipulation requiring
    shunting of drill cuttings within 10 m of the bottom and the
    negligible upward transport by currents have minimized the potential
    for discharged contaminants to reach the reef communities.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.363888888888889in" height="1.5in"}

> ![](media/image4.png){width="0.9751968503937007in"
> height="0.8901574803149607in"}![](media/image5.jpeg){width="2.3653543307086613in"
> height="0.3889763779527559in"}
>
> A diver photographing corals
>
> during monitoring survey.

**Management Applications**

The MMS has established a "no activity zone" around each bank. This
includes approximately 19 square nautical miles at the East Flower
Gardens and 23 square nautical miles at the West Flower Gardens.
Information from long-term monitoring at the Flower Garden Banks is used
by MMS to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of current lease
stipulations designed to protect these important biological resources.

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="2.25in" height="1.4125in"}

> Colorful queen parrotfish and two small
>
> wrasses common at the Flower Garden
>
> Banks.

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="2.3291338582677166in" height="1.5in"}

> Synchronous spawning of corals at the Flower Garden Banks.