March 2025
One thing all Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Buoy Team members have in common is a love of diving and being immersed in the marine environment. Being able to do this as part of their job — while also working to protect the places they love — brings an immense sense of accomplishment. Every time they head out on the water, they know their work is helping boaters safely enjoy sanctuary waters while protecting fragile marine habitats. Providing this service to the community is a rewarding and meaningful part of the job.
Why Buoys Matter in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
When Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was established, the areas most in need of protection were also some of the most biologically rich — home to coral reefs, seagrass beds, and abundant marine life that support tourism valued at $2.4 billion in the Keys (2018 data from Rockport Analytics). To protect these areas while still allowing public access, the sanctuary installed a network of mooring buoys in high-traffic areas to reduce anchor damage to sensitive marine habitats.
The first buoys were placed at French Reef in 1981, giving boaters a simple, anchor-free way to tie up and enjoy the reef. Since then, the sanctuary has expanded its mooring buoy system, now maintaining over 800 buoys throughout the Keys. These buoys not only protect fragile habitats but also provide easy and convenient access to prime dive and snorkel locations — because, let’s face it, no one wants to haul up an anchor if they don’t have to.
The buoy system is now widely recognized as an essential management tool that helps protect the natural resources that sustain the Keys' culture, economy, and way of life.
What it Takes to Maintain the Buoys
Maintaining more than 800 buoys throughout 4,539 square miles of sanctuary waters is no small task. The buoy team aims to be on the water most days, weather permitting. If winds exceed 15 knots, sea conditions can become too rough for safe buoy work — so on those days, the team pivots to land-based tasks like repairing equipment, preparing materials, and conducting office work.
Routine maintenance involves checking buoys for wear and tear, replacing lines and shackles, and cleaning marine growth off the buoy systems. But sometimes, buoys are completely displaced or damaged due to severe weather or boating mishaps, requiring full replacement.
The sanctuary operates two offices — one in Key Largo and one in Key West — each playing a critical role in supporting buoy operations. The Key Largo team services buoys in the Upper Keys, while the Key West team handles the Lower and Middle Keys. Each office has dedicated storage space for tools, scuba gear, spare buoys, and other operational materials, as well as critical infrastructure like communications systems, records management, and payroll services.
Each location also has specialized vessels for buoy maintenance. The Upper Keys team uses a customized buoy boat for most mooring and boundary buoys, as well as a shallow-draft vessel designed to navigate no-motor zones around wildlife management areas. Without both offices and vessels in operation, it would be impossible to maintain all 800 buoys spread across the sanctuary.
Maintaining both offices is essential for effective buoy operations, because with only one location throughout the entire stretch of the Florida Keys, daily workflows would be significantly disrupted. Employees would face round-trip commutes of up to 200 miles — a five-hour journey — severely impacting productivity and efficiency. The hope is to eventually have a third office to better service the buoys in the Middle Keys.
A Small Budget, Big Impact
Despite the vast scale of the buoy program, it operates on a modest materials budget of just $13,000 per year, supplemented by state grant funding. This budget covers the cost of essential supplies like buoy lines, shackles, tools, and replacement parts.
The team stretches these limited resources to achieve remarkable results, thanks to the infrastructure and logistical support provided by NOAA and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Maintaining sanctuary buoys on such a small budget is no easy feat, but the team takes immense pride in ensuring public access to these special places while minimizing impacts on marine life.
“We do a lot with a little,” said Brady Booton, the marine operations supervisor for the Florida Keys Buoy Team. “It’s a labor of love, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of NOAA and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary infrastructure.”
A Day in the Life of a Buoy Team Member
Maintaining buoys in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is not for the faint of heart. Days often stretch 10 hours in the sweltering tropical heat. Team members haul heavy buoys onto boats, scrape away thick layers of marine growth, and dive to install new anchors — all while complying with strict federal and state safety regulations.
One of the most challenging tasks is live-boating operations, where divers work underwater without the boat being anchored. This requires a crew of at least five people — four divers and a certified captain — working in sync to install new anchor pins, replace worn lines, or recover displaced buoys.
“There are days when we’re hauling heavy buoys through strong currents, sweating in the heat, and scraping off fire coral,” said Buoy Team Member Brittany Torres. “But at the end of the day, it’s all worth it when we see the reef less disturbed by anchors and know we’ve protected another piece of the Keys.”
A Victory at Sea
One of the most memorable days on the job occurred when the team set out to install two boundary buoys — one at French Reef, where a buoy had been missing for nearly two years, and another at the Conch Reef Sanctuary Preservation Area. The team’s first attempt to install the French Reef buoy had failed due to strong underwater currents and opposing surface winds. On a second attempt, the team returned under ideal conditions. They successfully installed the new French Reef anchor pin in 65 feet of water, secured another buoy at Conch Reef, and even managed to complete an unplanned third installation at Pickles Reef.
The team recalled that the day was a huge win, and that they walked away with a sense of accomplishment, knowing they had made a real difference in protecting these reefs.
Protecting the Future of the Reef
For many members of the buoy team, their love for diving and marine life is what drew them to this career in the first place. But it’s their hope for the future of the reef that keeps them going.
“If I could make one wish as a buoy team member, it would be to see the coral reef rebound from years of degradation,” Booton says with hope. “It’s what inspired most of us to get into diving — and it’s what drives us to keep protecting these waters.”
Thanks to the dedication of the buoy team and the ongoing support from NOAA and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, boaters can continue to enjoy the vibrant waters of the Florida Keys — without leaving a trace.
Brady Booton has been a member of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Buoy Team at the Key Largo facility
since 2010. The team is responsible for maintaining a pioneering passive conservation program that includes more than
800 marker and mooring buoys throughout the 4,539 square miles of protected waters.
Rachel Plunkett is the content manager and senior writer/editor for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries