Mid Atlantic council considering fishing gear restrictions to protect deepwater canyon corals
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Baltimore Sun] By Timothy B. Wheeler - December 10, 2014 -
With ocean policymakers mulling new protections for deep-sea canyons off the East Coast, a new report portrays them as vulnerable "treasure troves" of marine life at risk from fishing trawlers.
Drawing on a series of exploratory scientific cruises the past few years, the Natural Resources Defense Council says more than 40 different species of corals, at least three newly discovered, have been found in the submarine canyons cut into the continental shelf 100 miles off the Mid-Atlantic coast.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which is meeting this week in Baltimore, is weighing a plan to protect deep-sea coral communities from damage by fishing gear. Fishing interests have pushed back against recommendations to bar any harvests in the canyons' vicinity. The council plans ...
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