Coral reefs found in deep ocean canyons from North Carolina to New York would be protected from fishing equipment that could harm them, under a proposal approved by a regional fisheries panel.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved the protections for more than 38,000 square miles of deep, cold water habitat in the Atlantic Ocean during a meeting Wednesday in Virginia Beach. The plan still must be approved by the U.S. Commerce Secretary after a public comment period before it can take effect, but environmental groups hailed the action as a significant step toward protecting a vital piece of the ocean’s ecosystem.
“It is the most sweeping move to date to protect ocean habitat off our most populous coastline,” Brad Sewell, fisheries policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement.
Most deep sea corals are slow-growing and fragile, making them vulnerable to damage from certain types of fishing gear that come in contact with the sea floor, according to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
Under the proposal that was approved, commercial fishermen would not be allowed to use bottom-tending fishing gear such as dredges, trawls, bottom longlines and traps in certain protected zones.
“Destructive fishing gear can wreak havoc in coral gardens by essentially bulldozing millions of pounds of ancient corals that can take hundreds of years to grow back,” Gib Brogan, fishery campaign manager for Oceana, said in a statement. “By conserving habitats that have high concentrations of corals, the Council is also helping to protect the larger ocean ecosystem where many commercially and recreationally valuable fish species make their homes.”
The measure primarily focuses on protecting more than two dozen named, deepwater canyons that serve as habitat for coral. The council also voted to protect a much broader area that extends out to the 200-mile limit of the United States’ exclusive economic zone.
The council voted to exempt the red crab fishery — which only has two full-time vessels — from the proposed gear restrictions for at least two years.
The proposal would also allow vessels to transit through coral zones if fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use.
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