CONTACT: Tim Ahern/Stephanie Hanna         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
         Lori Arguelles                    10/08/98 

WASHINGTON - The first-ever meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force will be held Oct. 19-20, 1998 at Biscayne National Park in Florida as part of the effort to protect coral reefs in American waters and around the world, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Dr. D. James Baker, Under Secretary of Commerce and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced today.

The task force was created by an executive order signed June 11 by President Clinton as part of the Year of the Ocean observance. The order directs all federal agencies to protect coral reef ecosystems to the extent feasible and tells agencies to come up with coordinated, science-based plans to restore damaged reefs, both in the United States and around the globe.

"As we learn more about coral reefs, we are becoming more aware both of their fragility and of the vital role they play in the health of our oceans," said Babbitt. "These reefs are as critical to our oceans as forests are to the land, and we must protect them for future generations. This meeting, and this task force, can lead their effort."

Baker said, "coral reefs are the rain forests of the sea. They are home to nearly a million species of marine life and have become an increasingly important source of new medicines. They are also the foundation of important tourism and fisheries economies. However, it is estimated that two-thirds of the world's coral reefs are dying, and that is why this meeting and initiative are so important."

Last June, when President Clinton signed the executive order at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey, Calif., he noted that, "10 percent of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 30 percent will all but disappear within 30 years."

The first meeting of the task force, which will be hosted by the Department of the Interior and NOAA, will lay a foundation to carry out the goals of Clinton's directive. Task force members will report on the coral reef-related activities of the Departments of Interior, Commerce, Agriculture, Justice, Defense, Transportation, and State; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Agency for International Development, the National Science Foundation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Task force members will also discuss how to implement the order with representatives of state, territorial and commonwealth governments, along with researchers, commercial interests, and non-governmental organizations.