NOAA rejects whale, coral sanctuary request in Atlantic
NOAA rejects whale, coral sanctuary request in Atlantic
Ted Lund, Florida Today 6:40 p.m. EST March 1, 2015
A North Florida non-profit proposing a National Marine Sanctuary for Northern right whales and Oculina coral that would cover more than 7,000-square miles of ocean from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce is headed back to the drawing board after having its initial application rejected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
St. Augustine-based Friends of Matanzas requested Sanctuary status in hopes of placing the region off-limits to seismic testing and other forms of oil and gas exploration. The proposed Eubalaena Oculina National Marine Sanctuary would gets its name from the whales (Eubalaena) and corals (Oculina) it would protect.
Calls to FOM were not returned Friday, but the group has since reworked its application according to NOAA's Southeast Regional Director of Sanctuaries, Billy Causey.
"We are expecting to receive the new application with revised boundaries and additional supporting information," Causey said. "The footprint proposed was enormous and some of it is already protected under the Magnuson Act."
More:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/01/noaa-rejects-whale-coral-sanctuary-request-in-atlantic/24232361/
