For better or worse, the massive ships that move goods and people in and out of Florida’s inlets affect the environment.

Last month, Coast Guard officials banned ships from anchoring near fragile coral reefs outside Port Everglades in the area known as Anchorage A. The decision came after ships continually ran aground or dragged anchors on delicate reefs, corals and sponges—destroying ecosystems that took thousands of years to develop. Since 1994, about a dozen cases have been well-documented, reported the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The now defunct Anchorage A ran along the beach in 60 to 70 feet of water and was where cargo ships, freighters or petroleum ships waited for instructions or berths at Port Everglades. The Coast Guard is expected to expand Anchorage B to compensate for Anchorage A’s removal. Anchorage B sits in 100 to more than 500 feet of water.

Environmentalists and fishermen familiar with the ongoing degradation of Ft. Lauderdale’s reefs commended the Coast Guard decision, though some feel this measure will be futile if the reefs get blasted to expand Port Everglades.

Jumping from one coast to other, a SunCruz Casino boat is under investigation after large swaths of grassbeds were found to have gouges 12 feet wide and up to 3,000 feet long. “State investigators took aerial photos that show the SunCruz casino boat churning through seagrass beds off the Pasco and Hernando county coastline that had previously been torn up by a similar-sized vessel,” reported the St. Petersburg Times.

Scientists found damage 8 miles and 4 miles offshore, though it’s still undecided whether federal or state action will be taken against the casino boat company.

This is not the first time SunCruz has come under scrutiny. The casino ship was previously sued by the Department of Environment Protection (DEP) for destroying riverbeds on the west coast of Florida. Specifically, the boat was accused by the DEP and Army Corps of Engineers of gashing bottom in the Pithlachascotee and Crystal rivers. On another occasion, SunCruz was caught dumping its sewage in the nearshore Gulf.