BOSTON (AP) – Federal regulators have signed off on new protections for thousands of square miles of deep-sea corals off New England.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it has approved a final rule that designates the coral protection areas on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. The largest of the underwater areas is called the Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area and it is located mostly southeast of Cape Cod.
NOAA officials say the protected zone places prohibitions on bottom-tending commercial fishing gear, with the exception of certain kinds of crab traps.
From The Associated Press
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