Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Looe Key Coral Reef Restoration Project of 1999

Looe Key is located in the southern Florida Keys, approximately thirty miles from Key West. Designated in 1981 as a marine sanctuary, Looe Key includes a five-square mile area of seafloor surrounding the coral reef. On August 10, 1994, the coral reef at Looe Key was severely damaged as a result of the grounding of a vessel on the reef. The Columbus Iselin, a 155-foot University of Miami research vessel, ran hard aground on the Looe Key coral reef formation and remained aground for two days. A Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) was initiated by NOAA to access the damage to the coral reef. Under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, NOAA secured compensation from the responsible party for response costs and natural resource damages, for compensation to restore the injured sanctuary resources and for the interim loss of the resources pending their recovery. The coral reef of Looe Key is a "spur and groove" reef formation. Four of the coral spurs were significantly damaged by the grounding. The intent of the reef restoration effort was to recreate pre-existing habitat structure and surface topographical relief to allow benthic organisms to recolonize the area, and to stabilize each spur and prevent further deterioration. The general repair plan is described