Boat Talk - Florida Keys Below is a list of articles written by locals that we thought were interesting. Click on the title to read the article. Many divers use the state of the art mooring buoy system in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, available to anyone who cares to use it. The Coral Reef Foundation, Reef Relief and other government and privately funded organizations have installed this series of mooring buoys from Pennekamp Park to Key West. This makes the art of anchoring unnecessary in a lot of locations in the Keys.
General etiquette applies to the use of the buoys.
A nice day brings a lot of traffic to the reefs. If you are more interested in fishing than diving, keep in mind that the reason for the buoys location is good diving not good fishing. Most are located on shallow reefs ideal for diving but not for fishing. Be considerate so that no one is tempted to anchor in these sensitive and very tricky areas. I have operated dive boats in the area for longer than I care to discuss and even though or perhaps because of the fact that I am intimate with the structure of each reef, I often hesitate where people with less local knowledge come in and drop anchor.