The boat that ran into a patch reef off Key West recently left without reporting the grounding. But it left some pieces behind.
"Essentially, this is a hit-and-run on the coral," said Sean Morton, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We're on the lookout for a very large boat that is missing one prop and has probably a very large dent and damage to the hull on the front."
The damage was reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission May 19 by a boater who found the propeller blades at the site. FWC officers say evidence should be left at the site to help make the case.
FWC is investigating the grounding, while biologists from the marine sanctuary assess the damage.
Morton saw the damaged area on a recent snorkeling trip and said it's in an area of healthy, diverse corals. Especially noticeable was damage to a large star coral.
"Where there should have been live coral cover you could see that something had run into it, basically taking off the live coral cover, and dented and smashed into the coral framework," he said. "The actual boulder itself looked like an extremely large sledgehammer had been taken to a rock."
The FWC estimates the vessel involved to be 80 to 100 feet long. Anyone with information about such a vessel that has experienced extensive damage to its running gear within the last three weeks is asked to contact the FWC at 888-404-3922 or online at www.myfwc.com.
