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A ten-fold increase in the routine of protected coral species was declare this week , with 20 new coral added to the list of threatened species .
In total , 22coralspecies are now classified as threaten under the Endangered Species Act . Two coral mintage were previously listed in 2006 .
A Pacific Ocean coral species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Reef - construction precious coral face severe threats from climate change , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA)said in a statementWednesday ( Aug. 27 ) declare the new listings . ocean are becoming affectionate and more acidic , and coral diseases are causing aggregate dice - offs . Other threats let in pollution and overfishing in coral Witwatersrand ecosystems .
The new regulation do not prevent harvesting or damage from touristry and sportfishing . ( No - take zones were put in place for elkhorn and staghorn coral , the two Caribbean coral mintage listed in 2006 . )
The new added coral species are all found off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts or in U.S. territorial pee . None are from Hawaii .
Fifteen are Pacific corals , from American Samoa , Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands and the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument . The other five are Caribbean corals found offshore of Florida , the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico .
The protected Caribbean corals include commonly recognized mintage such as pillar coral , boulder star coral and rough cactus coral . The Pacific precious coral include stony corals , staghorn corals and pore corals .
The listings were sparked by a 2009 petition call off for more tribute for coral species by the Center for Biological Diversity , an environmental mathematical group . In 2012,NOAA initially proposed to lean 66 species : seven Pacific coral species as threaten and 52 as threatened , and in the Caribbean , five endangered and two peril . The 20 species that made the concluding cut this week were listed after two years of judgement and public comment .
