June 22, 2017 — A federal panel voted on Thursday to offer new protections to some deep-sea corals in the Atlantic Ocean but held off on protecting others so it can get more information first.
June 22, 2017 — A federal panel voted on Thursday to offer new protections to some deep-sea corals in the Atlantic Ocean but held off on protecting others so it can get more information first.
The New England Fishery Management Council proposals focus on corals in two key fishing areas — the Gulf of Maine and south of Georges Bank off the Massachusetts coast — and have been the subject of debate among environmentalists and fishing groups for months.
“The goal is to protect as much coral as you can while minimizing impact on various industries that are fishing near the corals,” said John Bullard, a regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service and a member of the fishery council.
The proposals to protect the corals would need to be approved by the federal Department of Commerce.
New England’s corals grow in areas such as along underwater canyons and seamounts and provide habitat for marine life including sea turtles and fish. President Barack Obama protected one area last year as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle