23,000 Square Miles of Deep-sea Coral Protected in South Atlantic - Oceana USA

Victory | June 1, 2010

23,000 Square Miles of Deep-sea Coral Protected in South Atlantic

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) approved a plan to protect more than 23,000 square miles of known deep sea coral from North Carolina to Florida from destructive fishing gear. The plan, proposed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in September 2009, will ban the use of bottom-damaging fishing gear in the largest known area of healthy deep sea coral ecosystems in the world, helping to ensure the productivity of commercial fisheries that depend on them.