Conch Reef Research-Only Area (Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary)

Conch Reef, off Tavernier/Plantation Key, is one of the four Special-use “Research-only areas” listed in appendix VI to 15 CFR part 922 subpart P. Under 15 CFR 922.164(e)(3) nobody may enter it at all except in passage without interruption, for law enforcement, or under a NOAA National Marine Sanctuary General or Historical Resources permit, and 922.164(e)(5) applies the reserve-level prohibitions on “spearing” and “fishing by any means” inside it. It lies immediately east (seaward) of the Conch Reef Sanctuary Preservation Area and shares part of that area's eastern boundary — there is no gap between them — but it is a stricter regime: the catch-and-release trolling exception in 922.164(d)(1)(iii) is granted to the Conch Reef SPA only and does not reach the research-only area.