Reef Relief installed and maintained 116 mooring buoys at seven Key West-area coral reef that are available for use at no cost to the public. These buoys were officially transferred to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in October, 1997. The reef mooring buoys provide a safe and easy method of eliminating anchor damage by the world's largest fleet of charter boats.

Boaters are encouraged to hook up to the buoys because they eliminate the need to drop anchor on the fragile living coral reef.

The Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary Program is responsible for designing the state-of-the-art mooring buoy system currently in use. The design is efficient and only small core drillings are necessary to hold the eyebolts in place.

The polypropylene pick-up lines are treated for resistance to the damaging rays of the sun and are easily removed for replacement when necessary. The buoy itself floats on the surface and is recognizable from a distance. A reef tract surrounded by mooring buoys provides a warning to boaters that this is an area of shallow water, which should reduce accidental groundings of boats on the reef.

See the Updated Coral Reef Mooring Brochure! 

The greatest advantage to reef mooring buoys is that they greatly reduce anchor damage to the living coral reef.

Reef Relief's mooring buoys are located at:

• Western Dry Rocks,
• Sand Key,
• Rock Key,
• Eastern Dry Rocks,
• Western Sambo,
• Pelican Shoal
• Cottrell Key

There are also six mooring buoys installed by Reef Relief off Little Torch Key which are being maintained by Little Palm Island Resort. There are other mooring buoys which have been installed and are maintained by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary throughout the Florida Keys. These are located at:

• Looe Key (54 buoys),
• Sombrero Reef off of Marathon (25),
• Islamorada reefs (24): Pickles Reef, Conch Reef, Little Conch, Davis Reef, Crocker, Hens& Chickens, Cheeca Rocks, Alligator
• Key Largo reefs (129): Three Sisters, Molasses Reef, Sand Island, White Bank, Dry Rocks, French Reef, Benwood Wreck, Grecian Rocks, Key Largo Dry Rocks, The Elbow, Carysfort South, Carysfort Reef, Turtle Rocks, Turtle Shoals, Northeast Patch.
• The National Park Service maintains 18 demarcation and 5 reef mooring buoys at the Dry Tortugas National Park.
  

HOW TO USE MOORING BUOYS

1. Slowly approach the buoy from down wind and/or down current.
2. Smaller boats are encouraged to tie off to one another, thereby allowing larger vessels access to buoys. Remember, the larger the vessel, the more potential damage to the coral (if an anchor is used).
3. All boats should put out extra scope by adding an extra line to create a horizontal pull on the eyebolt. Otherwise, the eyebolt will be pulled out. A good rule to remember is: if the buoy is pulled underwater, you must let out extra scope.
4. Inspect the mooring buoy your boat is tied to -- you are still responsible for your vessel.
5. Sailboats should not leave large sails up as steadying sails when on a buoy; this puts too much strain on the eyebolt.

If you choose not to use a mooring buoy, anchoring is only permitted in the sandy areas. DO NOT ANCHOR ON CORAL! This is Florida State Law.

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