The weather in Key West over the past weekend has been perfect for diving – flat calm warm waters (86 degrees water temp), sunny skies and no threat of tropical storms. We invite you to join the adventure and come dive with us.


According to officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, if the Florida Keys get any effects from the non-contiguous patches of oil sheen currently in the Gulf Loop Current, they are expected to be in the form of small tar balls, not large amounts of aqueous oil as seen near the spill site.

Currently, there are no advisories recommending against travel to the Florida Keys or any other precautions advising visitors and residents not to engage in fishing, diving, swimming or other water sports, according to the Monroe County Health Department.

There have been no physical impacts to the Florida Keys from the Gulf oil spill and none are anticipated in the immediate near future, according to NOAA trajectory forecasts.

Speaking Thursday at a Village of Islamorada council meeting, Coast Guard Lt. Cdr. Mike Herring said the agency was prepared to lead efforts to mitigate any oil remnants from the Transocean/BP oil spill that might reach the Florida Keys. “Time and distance is on the Keys side,” Herring said of the 500-mile distance any oil residues would have to travel before possibly reaching the island chain.

Petroleum science dictates that the result is a highly weathered product much different than the thick aqueous oil currently impacting some shorelines in the northern Gulf. The tar balls are “significantly less toxic to the environment” and easier to mitigate, according to NOAA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials.

Billy Causey, superintendent of NOAA southeastern region, including National Marine Sanctuaries, said, “It is entirely possible that the oil will stay away from the Florida Keys. We do know if the oil does reach the Keys, it will be in the form of solid tarballs, not the aqueous oil as seen near the spill site. which are easier to clean up than the aqueous oil as seen near the spill site. But right now, we are not sure if any oil will touch the shores of the Florida Keys at any time.”