Conch Reef Conservation Area
Five nautical miles southeast of Tavernier, and adjacent to the Conch Reef Sanctuary Preservation Area, is the 96-acre Conch Reef Conservation Area. This zone is home to the Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only underwater laboratory, which today is operated by Florida International University. The Conch Reef Conservation Area is closed to entry.
Tangs, jacks, stingrays, nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), groupers, lobsters, butterflyfish, and the curious moray eel (Gymnothorax spp.) all call Coffins Patch home. Plying the easy currents among soft corals are up to three-foot round boulder corals, and this area has historically been known for patches of pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus). Pillar coral may be found at the west end of the SPA at a depth of 25 feet.
Special regulations apply here.Learn more about what activities are allowed in this type of zone.
A summary of all sanctuary regulations is available online. For the full text of sanctuary regulations, see 15 CFR 922 Subpart P.