Mission Statement
The mission of the Marine Resources Department is to help protect, conserve, and restore the quality of the waters and marine resources of the Florida Keys consistent with the Monroe County 2010 Comprehensive Plan and provide for adequate and appropriate recreational and commercial use of the Keys’ marine environment using the best available data and technological support.
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The Department has focused on five principal areas in the past few years and will continue to expand on these basic responsibilities.
The Department continues to act as a liaison for the County, regularly attending Florida National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council and the Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) Steering Committee meetings; while sitting on the WQPP Technical Advisory Committee and the Project Coordination Team for the Everglades Task Force. The Department has played a principal role in the on-going efforts to improve wastewater treatment and stormwater management practices in the Keys.
Using Boating Improvement Fund dollars and state grants, the County removes approximately 100 derelict vessels per year. Marine Resources has worked to establish some 17 regulated speed zones and is working to establish or reconfigure some 250 to 300 aids to navigation in the Florida Keys, from the edge of Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas Keys. The goal of these efforts is to provide a safe atmosphere for boaters and protect and preserve shallow marine resources.
To download an Environmental Resources Permit Application, please click on the following file:
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