CONTACT:  John Robinson                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                 10/19/98 

At the first meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force today in Biscayne National Park, Fla., Commerce Department Deputy Secretary Robert Mallett announced several new programs designed to better protect the nation's coral reefs and ensure their long-term ecological and economic vitality.

The new programs include increased monitoring of water quality and biological diversity in critical coral reef systems including pristine coral areas off the coast of Florida; grant awards for monitoring and education projects in U.S. Territories and Hawaii; additional new funds available for local-level coral conservation projects; and expanded mapping of U.S. coral reef ecosystems to help local, state and federal decision-makers protect valuable coral reefs.

These projects will forge new partnerships among government agencies, conservation groups, and the private sector to more effectively monitor and manage the health of U.S. coral reefs. The Coral Reef Task Force was established to help protect and sustainably manage coral reefs through additional partnerships and focused conservation actions.

"At the Commerce Department we understand that a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand-in-hand," Mallett said. "Nowhere is this more true than in coastal areas where the natural resource-based economies depend on rich habitats like coral reefs. Coral reefs, the 'rain forests of the sea,' are vital to us all. They are a source of jobs, food and even potentially life-saving medicines."

Deputy Secretary Mallett announced that the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will carry out the new coral projects working with a variety of state, territory and nongovernmental partners. The new projects will include:

• New Program to Monitor Coral Reefs: NOAA will develop a comprehensive coral reef monitoring program to asses current reef conditions and allow managers to quickly spot, track, study, and possibly prevent declines in coral reef condition. The program will initially focus on five of NOAA's 34 marine and coastal protected areas with coral reefs. These areas are: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Florida), Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary (American Samoa), Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Texas), Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (Georgia), and Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (Puerto Rico).

• Grants to U.S. Islands for Coral Conservation: This month, the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior will award more than $170,000 in grants for coral conservation projects in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The grants will support a wide-range of local-level projects to protect coral reefs, including education, monitoring, restoration and research.

• New Funds Available for Coral Conservation Projects: NOAA will announce the availability of $150,000 to support projects that build public-private partnerships for coral reef conservation. Funds will support projects that build partnerships to address critical threats to coral reefs through local-level actions.

• "First of Its Kind" Coral Reef Map Unveiled: A new map of the extensive Florida Keys Coral Reef system will be unveiled today by NOAA. Produced with the state of Florida, the new electronic map offers unprecedented detail and information on the distribution of habitats and species within this diverse coral reef system. "Benthic Habitats of the Florida Keys" is the first in a series of maps which will eventually provide critical information on all of the nation's coral reefs. The map is especially useful to resource managers and researchers to help guide wise management decisions and provide the baseline for identifying future changes in the reef community.

• Increased Protection for U.S. Coral Reefs: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is currently considering a decision by the Caribbean Regional Fishery Management Council to establish one of the first and largest coral reef reserves in the Caribbean. The reserve was established to help protect coral reefs that provide essential habitat for impor-tant fisheries species. If approved, the reserve is expected to be fully established in 1999.

• Joint Efforts to Protect Pristine Coral Reefs: To help provide long-term protection for pristine portions of the Florida Keys Coral Reef, the third largest barrier reef system in the world, the Commerce Department announced joint efforts with the Department of the Interior to conduct a site characterization of the Dry Tortugas coral reef area. Comprehensive evaluation of the shallow and deep water coral reef communities will help determine future management options for the area, including possible establishment of ecological reserves.

The Coral Reef Task Force was established by Presidential Order on June 11, 1998, as part of the National Ocean Conference in Monterey, Calif. The Task Force consists of senior leaders of 11 federal agencies and is co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce. The Task Force was created to help implement research, monitoring, mapping, conservation, restoration and international measures to reduce human impacts on coral reefs.