Protecting Corals, Saving Ships

1.   Activity in the first quarter of FY 2006 was impacted by Hurricane Wilma, which caused reduced office interaction with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuaries (FKNMS). For most of the quarter, the FKNMS offices were operating in a “recovery mode”, delaying the validation of how the various Sanctuary “Zones” were to be classified within the MPA Functional Classification Scheme. However, further progress continued to be made in terms of refining both the biological and regulatory factors needed to develop of Marine Information Objects (MIOs) to be used with electronic charting systems.

2.   A teleconference was held in December between the Protecting Corals, Saving Ships Project Team and individuals from the MPA Center in Monterey, CA, to discuss status of Tasks/Follow-on actions from the September meeting as well as to resolve additional topics and questions. The MPA Center is involved in a similar project for the U.S. Coast Pilot, which also requires that a classification system for MIOs be developed. Since the level of content for both biological and regulatory zones has been determined, the next logical next step is to develop suitable classification criteria based on MPA Functional Classification System. Other subsequent requirements include a development of a Product Specification and determination of suitable symbols and colors for use as a Coral Reef/MPA MIO. Eventually, the entire system will require an at-sea test and an evaluation period.

3.    After investigating a number of classification options, it was determined that the MPA Center’s Functional Classification System for MPAs is highly suitable for developing IHO S-57 data object classes, attributes and attribute values for Coral Reef MIOs. In order to gain International support, a “cross-walk” between the MPA Center’s System and the IUCN Classification System will be developed in order to gain support and convince others that the MPA Functional Classification System is complementary to -- not a substitute for -- the IUCN approach.

4.    Finally, an “Update/Status” Briefing was provided to the FKNMS Sanctuaries Advisory Council (SAC) in early December to report on progress made this calendar year and how the support of the of FKNMS was utilized. The FKNMS identified and provided most of the data content, both biological and regulatory, which will be depicted on electronic charts. The SAC continue to be highly supportive, and will continue to provide further support to this project as needed.