Save the Florida Coast

Last week Nautica invited Oceana to Key West Race Week to gather support for our campaign work – much of which directly impacts Florida. You see, as unique marine environments go, the Florida coastline is unparalleled in the United States.

Take mangroves for example. They dot the coast and lowlands from central Florida to the Keys and provide habitat for over 40 bird species and a multitude of fish and shellfish species, like oysters, clams, shrimp, mussels and crabs. Often, larger marine animals like dolphins, manatees, sea turtles and sharks use and visit the mangroves too.

(…It took all of 30 minutes after I landed in Key West for me to see a pair of herons wading around a mangrove just offshore.)

There’s corals too, lots of corals. Florida’s unique coral reef habitat extends over 300 miles from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the largest systems in the northern hemisphere. Over 40 different species of coral can be found here, and they attract over 500 fish species, including burrfish, angelfish, barracudas and sharks.

Then there are Florida’s beaches and sea grass beds. They attract thousands of sea turtles every year, like the loggerhead and green turtle species. Florida alone accounts for nearly 90 percent of loggerhead nesting in the United States and is one of the two largest nesting hot spots for the population in the world.

Oceana has campaigns aimed at protecting these vital marine resources from such threats as bottom trawling, offshore drilling and ocean acidification. You can help our efforts by taking action here.

Nautica has contributed to Oceana to support its mission to protect the world’s oceans.