More Gulf reef protection proposed

Plans to expand Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary, protect hotspots submitted

GALVESTON — At a time when a quarter of coral reefs worldwide are considered damaged beyond repair, environmentalists are teaming up with researchers and industry leaders to protect some of the Gulf of Mexico’s near-pristine reefs.

And multiple steps were taken this week to do just that.

First, a group of stakeholders on Wednesday sent a proposal expanding the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary — a network of federally protected coral reef systems about 100 miles off the coast of Galveston — to the Trump administration for approval.

Then, just hours later, a group of about 10 local residents and stakeholders met in League City to discuss another proposal to protect up to 23 coral hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico, several of which are located off the coast of Texas.

Both proposals require further action before becoming the law of the land, but they show a nationwide push to protect deep sea life in the face of extreme reef degradation.

“I love the Flower Garden Banks and I want my kids to love it,” said Scott Hickman, a member of the sanctuary’s advisory council — which voted to send the proposal to the feds Wednesday — and owner of Circle H Outfitters and Charters.

“But I don’t want us to love it to death.”

The Flower Garden Banks was discovered by fishermen in the early 1900s and named for the brightly colored sponges, plants and other marine life visible below their boat. About 100 years later, it’s still, mostly, in good shape. In fact, it’s home to some of the healthiest reefs in the region, which scientists say is because of its location: 70 to 115 miles off shore and 55 to 160 feet deep.

But adding more reef systems to the sanctuary would improve its survival chances even more. National Marine Sanctuary status prevents over fishing and harassment of the marine life in the area.

The proposal approved Wednesday by the sanctuary’s advisory council would expand the sanctuary from 56 square miles or three banks, to 206 square miles, or 17 banks.

“This is a good product, everyone should be proud of this product and politically we can get this across the finish line,” Hickman said.

Though all agreed expanding the sanctuary was necessary, debate on the plan took almost two hours and, at times, got heated. Some environmentalists and researchers on the council were concerned that not enough of the Gulf’s coral reefs would be protected.

“I have significant questions about ways that we can move the boundaries to get a little bit more of the area in there,” said Adrianne Correa, a council member and Rice University marine biologist. “There’s got to be places where the staff can compromise more ... there are areas right outside of the lines that could be included.”

The process to expand the Flower Garden Banks, one of 13 federally designated underwater areas protected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, began in 2015 when the agency published a notice of intent to expand.

The advisory council then put together a Boundary Expansion Working Group, which has been hashing out the proposed boundaries since 2016 by focusing on the best way to protect the ecological and biological features of the banks while also avoiding conflict with the fishing and oil and gas industries as much as possible.

The proposal now moves to the federal government for approval, though it’s unclear how long the process will take.

Also on Wednesday a group of about 10 local residents and stakeholders met in League City to discuss another proposal to protect up to 23 coral hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico, several of which are located off the coast of Texas.

The proposal would make these 23 hotspots, identified by scientists as having an abundance of coral or other species, Habitat Areas of Particular Concern under the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

The council also is considering putting fishing regulations in place, like no dredge fishing, in 15 of these areas “to conserve essential fish habitat and support sustainable fisheries.” Though the areas currently are not over-fished, Morgan Kilgour, a fishery biologist at the council, said officials want to protect the coral from future fisheries developing.

This idea concerned several fishermen in attendance Wednesday, who said there might be unintended consequences from taking this seemingly unnecessary move.

“I want to protect coral — the more coral, the more fish,” Hickman said. “But I want to utilize those fish. I get real nervous about taking fishermen out of areas where the coral is pristine.”

Interested individuals have until the council’s Monday, June 18 meeting to submit comments on the proposal.

Comments can be submitted online at http://tinyurl.com/CoralComments or during a Tuesday, May 22 6 p.m. webinar. For more information on the meetings or to register for the webinar, go to http:// gulfcouncil.org.