Will a deep-ocean marvel be preserved?
PROVIDED
The alphonsino is a common species of deep-sea coral habitats, where many unusual creatures reside.
This ancient landscape is alive.
The thousand-year-old coral runs for miles in sweeping, spindling reefs and branches, towers and rock bottom mounds hundreds of feet tall, all swarmed by fish, sponges and other creatures deep under the Gulf Stream.
The vast ocean-bottom reef that Gov. Mark Sanford has asked President Bush to name a national marine monument is as big as South Carolina itself, just off the lip of the Continental Shelf, starting roughly 60 miles out.
"Beautiful, extensive, huge, wonderful," said Steve Ross, associate research professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, who has cramped into a small submarine to dive 1,000 feet down to see it. He found starfish and crabs he didn't know existed, and rare fish such as cat sharks swimming in coral branches like birds through the trees.
"A vast array of creatures. You know you're looking at an environment nobody has ever seen," Ross said. "We don't know anywhere near what we thought we did. All these animals were so deep nobody ever thought to look."
As resources deplete closer in to shore, the largely unexplored coral reef is becoming the new ground for mineral mining, and for energy industries such as oil, natural gas, even methane.
A bill proposed in 2006 in the U.S. Senate would have expanded offshore oil and natural gas drilling to South Carolina and elsewhere; it was later withdrawn. Water-powered turbines have been proposed to tap the Gulf Stream in Florida. Long-line fishing boats already make passes over the reefs.
Conservationists say disturbing the irreplaceable coral destroys it.
The creatures in that coral might hold a key to medicines, including a potential cure for pancreatic cancer in sponges that is being researched by Latasha Amisial, a former Medical University of South Carolina graduate student who studied at the Hollings Marine Laboratory at Fort Johnson.
"We call it 'bio-prospecting.' Any time you're doing bio-prospecting, if you destroy something, you never know what you've lost," said Eric Lacy, national Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center director, who is based at the Hollings lab.
Conservationists say keeping a network of the delicate, slow-growing coral intact preserves not only a matchless seascape but a nursery for deep-sea plants and animals. Designating the dark world a national monument would be like making it a national park, regulating how it's used and banning such uses as bottom trawling.
The proposed Atlantic Coast Deep Sea Corals National Monument is shaped oddly like a sea horse. It would run for 23,000 square nautical miles from about North Carolina to Florida, with its tail along the South Florida shoreline.
More than a third of the reef is off South Carolina, including the Charleston Bump, 80 miles out from its namesake, rising nearly 1,000 feet from the bottom 2,000 feet deep, deflecting the Gulf Stream like a mountain would channel clouds. The Bump is a fishing mecca for migrating species including the white marlin and swordfish.
Sanford focused on the Bump when seeking the designation, saying, "This deepwater coral ecosystem constitutes a national treasure on par with Yosemite Valley and the Northwest Hawaiian Islands."
Bush named the northwest islands a marine sanctuary in 2006. Sanford sent the letter at the urging of conservationists and scientists who were encouraged by the Hawaiian designation. A similar letter went to the Bush administration's Council on Environmental Quality, signed by more than 100 scientists.
"We didn't see a downside. We don't view this as politics. This is a chance to protect a natural resource," said Joel Sawyer, Sanford's communications director. "There have been so many (fishing) restrictions placed on (the Bump) already, we didn't feel this would make a significant difference. The area is already being regulated out of (fishing) existence."
Sanford has opposed offshore drilling in South Carolina. Bush supports offshore drilling. Doug Rader, an Environmental Defense scientist who signed the council letter, said designating the monument would be a massive achievement, but "you can speculate as well as I" on the likelihood Bush would act.
Sanford sent the letter in late May. As of Friday, the governor had not gotten a reply. "Certainly, this is something we will take a look at. But at this point, we have a lot of ideas brought to us for consideration," said Kristen Hellmer, the council's communications director.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America is among the energy groups that have pushed to expand offshore drilling. The association has concerns "anytime areas that have large resource potential are taken off the books" before being test-drilled to see how much petroleum or gas there might be, said Dan Naatz, federal resources vice president. "We'd certainly like to take a look at this. We'd certainly like the administration to take a look at this," Naatz said.
Frank Blum, South Carolina Seafood Alliance director and a long-line fisherman, has mixed feelings. He understands the value of the remote corals as a nursery for fish that could be caught closer in. But he has argued that too many federal restrictions are driving American fishermen out of business. And he doesn't like the price he sees at the gas tank. "Before you throw a blanket over the area, determine what activities hurt the coral and regulate them," he said.
Reach Bo Petersen at bpetersen@postandcourier.com or 745-5852.
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Comments
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Lets just make the entire country and all surrounding waters a big park, and make everyone leave so it can be "preserved". This has nothing to do with anything but making it impossible to drill for our own oil. That's it, period. We have more oil right here than venezuala and russia combined but we aren't allowed to get to it, so we have to go hat in hand to crackpots like the saudis and huga chavez to get our freaking crude at the prices the want to charge us.
June 7, 2008 at 7:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Someone has got to put a stop to these environmentalists. These kids that come out of the families of the ruling elites that never have to work a day in their lives and have nothing but contempt for the middle class has got way too much power in our society. Instead of oil companies executives we need to pull these people up in front of the senate sub-committee hearings!
The Chinese communists will be drilling for oil just offshore from the Florida yet not a peep of protest from the environmentalists? The Chinese communists do not have sign onto the Kyoto Accord yet they are the biggest polluters of so called green house gases. France receives most of their electrical power from nuclear energy yet no protest from the environmentalists? The environmentalists will not be happy until they see the entire middle class in public housing and taking public transportation while they drive around in limousines and fly private jets. We need to put a stop to these socialists.
June 7, 2008 at 8:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FindingMyself (anonymous) says...
Maybe environmentalists haven't said anything about China, because they can't do anything *about* China. Environmentalists in the US can be active in the US, because that's where they are located, and therefore have the greatest chance of influencing decisions.
The fact is, the coral reefs are important. Now, I admit I'm no biologist, so I may be way off, but the way I understand it, the coral reefs help fight erosion, which means less land is destroyed by the tides. Likewise, some animals eat the animals that live in or near the reefs. Eventually, somewhere along the line, some of those animals are eaten by *us*. Get rid of coral reefs, and a whole plethora of other marine animals die as well, which eventually would mean the seafood industry would suffer greatly. Does nobody pay attention to the little "food web" diagrams in middle school science textbooks?
June 7, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Conrade JohnQ,
Spoken like a true socialist. We shouldn't be concern with the Chinese communists or the environmentalists, they in their wisdom knows what is best for idiots like me and the American people. By increasing supply the price will go down. It's simple supply and demand.
From reading your post, I get the impression that the government should nationalize the oil industry? If that is true, then the production of oil will go down and the price will go up. I've yet to see where any government run enterprise efficient at producing anything. That is why you see poverty and socialist countries go hand in hand. Governments can not create wealth. Governments they can only live off it.
The Valdez oil spill was NOT cause by Exxon but by a drunk.
JohnQ, you're only concern is to see the middle class driven into poverty. That's why you refer to me as an idiot. You show your true colors every time. It's the evil oil companies and their profits. Enough with socialist bull.
June 7, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Findingmyself:
When I find that the only source of information is a middle school text book, then I'll know I'm in JohnQ's socialist utopia.
June 7, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
for every nickle of profit an oil company makes by actually investing money into jobs and infrastructure, the government makes about 20 cents. John the socialist blames oil companies for the price at the pump, but excise taxes amount to much more of the cost of gax and diesel than the pennies of profit the supplier is making on that gallon. John q socialist is an economic idiot. Corporate taxes are 40% of the profit right off the top, and excise taxes on a gallon of petrol is more than the amount of profit made by the oil company, distributor and sales point all together on that gallon. Commies like john like to use government to rob us and then point the finger at the people who are supplying us with actual jobs and blaming them for the problems.
June 7, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Comrade JohnQ,
I hate to burst your bubble but I'm not from the South. There's conservatives in all 50 states and not 56 like Barack would like for you to think. Oh ya, don't confuse a conservative with a republican. I don't have a problem with democrats, I think they're misguided. I do have a problem with liberals, socialist and communists and if that offends you:too bad.
June 7, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Another thing JohnQ:
The people of South Carolina can count their lucky stars their last in everything the liberal states are first in.
I have a brother who lives I a liberal state and also a in liberal city. He pays 7-½ times more in property taxes than I do for a house of equal value here in South Carolina. He also pays 2-½ more points in a sale tax on top of a high state income tax. I see the quality of life a lot better here than where my brother lives. The only different I see between the 2 cities is the amount of money each one pisses away. Government by it's very nature is wasteful, but when you see a bunch of socialists running the show, they give new meaning to wasteful spending and the ever expanding role of government.
June 7, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Comrade JohnQ,
Calling me a buffoon is a real honor coming from a leftist like you. Now if you were a conservative and you called me a buffoon, now that would really hurt.
I've lived in a lot of different places in this country but out of curiosity what keeps you here in South Carolina? Why don't you move to one of those progressive states or cities?
June 7, 2008 at 5:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
john q socialist lives here because he lives off of the government tit and he likes the weather here. As far as I can tell his greatest contribution to America will be when his rotting corpse provides fertilizer to the South Carolina grass...probably in a paupers field.
I noticed he didn't bother to reply to my post stating the FACT that the government he thinks can reduce gas prices actually accounts for much more of the cost of a gallon of petrol through taxes than the oil companies he blames for the cost of a gallon of petrol. Dollars to donuts he thinks even higher taxes are the answer to high gas prices.
June 7, 2008 at 9:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
Major:.
I had a feeling JohnQ's affinity for the left is more like dependency than anything else.
I had a class reunion not too long ago and there was a few JohnQs there. I couldn't believe the resentment they had towards this high school drop out that succeeded in life. It drove them nuts and yes they were leftist too.
June 8, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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