The National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working in cooperation with the State of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the National Marine Fisheries Service, proposes to establish a 151 square nautical mile "no-take" ecological reserve to protect the critical coral reef ecosystem of the Tortugas, a remote area in the western part of, and to the west of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or Sanctuary). The reserve would consist of two sections, Tortugas North and Tortugas South, and would require an expansion of the Sanctuary boundary to protect important coral reef resources in the areas of Sherwood Forest and Riley's Hump.