Coral Protection

FILE - In this July 20, 2010 file photo, a soft coral and a brittle star, which were collected from the Gulf of Mexico, are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD. Federal regulators are close to approving a protection plan for vulnerable corals in the Gulf of Mexico that would create new protected zones designed to allow the corals to grow. The plan would create 21 protected areas off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)