The past 12 months brought some major wins for the precious Florida Keys ecosystem, from renewed ecotourism efforts to trash derbies and an all-out push to rid the islands of derelict vessels. These headlines came in sharp contrast to eye-opening acts of violence against wildlife, blatant poaching of protected species, and a veto of a protection plan for Keys waters that undid more than a decade of work by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and stakeholder partners.
- In an incredibly rare stranding, a pygmy killer whale was found struggling in shallow water off Long Key State Park on Jan. 12. Rescued by Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder, the animal eventually succumbed to its injuries.
- County officials and FWC continued their full-court press on the Keys’ derelict vessel issue, reporting in July that nearly 250 of the destructive eyesores were hauled out over the last 12 months.
- Coordinates are now available for the first project under Monroe County Artificial Reefs Director Hanna Koch: a site stacked with decommissioned power poles about 16 nautical miles northeast of Key West. Numbers are available at monroecounty-fl.gov/reefs.
- Fourteen years of work on a comprehensive new plan to protect the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary came crashing down for NOAA when Gov. Ron DeSantis took a “sledgehammer instead of a scalpel” to the proposed Restoration Blueprint, vetoing all components of the document in state waters. The result comes after tension between FWC and sanctuary officials over what FWC chairman Rodney Barreto said were 10 “essential” items of disagreement in the final Blueprint – headlined by perceived attempts to usurp FWC’s fisheries regulatory authority and lack of support for artificial reefs in state waters. While the rule took effect in federal waters, NOAA officials even weighed scrapping the plan entirely, questioning its efficacy if state waters were excluded from the new changes.
- The annual I.CARE Trash Derby in May served as a big-time cleanup for Keys waters, yanking out 36,000 pounds of debris and smashing the previous record of 14,000 pounds from 2024.
- A Key West charter captain’s brush with the “tax man” left him in hot water when video surfaced of Zane P. Garrett repeatedly stabbing a shark on a fishing line. Garrett was arrested by FWC officers on June 5 and charged with felony animal cruelty.
- Following the retirement of former FWC captain David Dipre, lieutenant Adam Garrison was promoted to take his place in June. “I wanted to work on boats, and work in law enforcement, and this was the only place I felt that I could wind up,” the new captain and 12-year FWC veteran told the Weekly. “When I get a break, it’s either a paddleboard, boat, anything I can do to get on the water.”
- FWC investigators logged one of the most egregious marine resource violations in recent memory in July, finding 291 illegally harvested queen conch shells at a rental home in Key Haven.
- In October, officers responded to reports of an injured American crocodile that had been shot in the head with a bullet and spear. Named “Britney,” the rescued croc was taken to Zoo Miami for treatment and recovery, but passed away in December from complications associated with the injury.
