Who’s defending Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern?
4 groups have it in their care
Ocean waters in Florida.
The defenders
Nobody has claimed this fight yet
No group in our directory carries Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern in its work yet. That is not the same as nobody fighting: if you know the group that belongs here, tell us and our editors will look at it.
4 more work nearby but are not tied to Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern on the record
On the ground in Florida
The situation
What’s happening to Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern
In 1984 NMFS designated a 92-square-nautical-mile portion of the Oculina Bank as a Habitat Area of Particular Concern to protect a unique reef of ivory tree coral off Florida’s east coast. It was expanded in 2000 and extended northward through Coral Amendment 8 (80 FR 42423, July 17, 2015). The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendments 11/12 to NMFS, which would establish a shrimp fishery access area along the eastern boundary of that northern extension, where trawling for rock shrimp is currently prohibited. The Council’s stated purpose is to reinstate access to historic rock shrimp grounds and achieve optimum yield while minimizing impacts to deep-water corals. Its Coral Advisory Panel and its Habitat and Ecosystem Advisory Panel both raised concern, warning that sediment plumes stirred up by trawling can travel considerable distances and could smother coral polyps or larvae. NMFS takes written comments through November 17, 2026.
- 2026Threat identified and added to the map
No public comment window is open on Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern right now. The groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
How to stand for Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern
Open comment windows and call scripts for fights like this one, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapBuild my lineup around Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern: the leading group here opens it, and the other seats fill from this record.
Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern has defenders. It needs more.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.