[10] After the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1981, NOAA and the State of Florida cooperated in the same way in managing it.

[12] In 1985, a Miami Herald travel writer deemed Looe Key one of the world's top ten destinations for recreational diving.

[11] Both articles were part of an effort to draw the public's attention to the detrimental effect of human activities on the reef systems in the Florida Keys.

[6][11] In June 1987, the United States Department of the Interior released a five-year plan to open Florida's coastal areas to offshore oil and gas development, with lease sales starting in late 1988.

[3] Public concern over the environmental problems and the prospect of offshore drilling prompted the United States Congress in 1988 to both reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuary program and order NOAA to conduct a feasibility study of the possibility of expanding national marine sanctuary sites in the Florida Keys.

[6] Accordingly, in 1988 NOAA made Alligator Reef, Sombrero Key, and American Shoal official study areas for potential inclusion in national marine sanctuaries.

[13] In 1989, public hearings took place on offshore drilling plans in the Florida Keys, further heightening concerns over the future environmental health of the area.

[3][6][13] Three major ship groundings in the Florida Keys over an 18-day period between October 25 and November 11, 1989, destroyed hundreds of acres (hectares) of coral reef, giving greater impetus to efforts to increase the protection of the area.

[10] The Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary therefore and had its own superintendent until 1997 and continued to carry out administrative functions until that year.