A fisheries council in the U.S. has given its approval to ban certain fishing methods to protect the coral habitat in the deep-sea canyons that stretch 38,000 square miles from North Carolina to New York.

Although the plan is yet to be approved by the U.S. Commerce Secretary through a period of public commentary sessions, environmentalists regard the initial approval as a critically vital event in their quest to protect a part of the ocean's vast ecosystem.

"It is the most sweeping move to date to protect ocean habitat off our most populous coastline," said Brad Sewell, fisheries policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Environmental groups celebrated this milestone, which will protect an area of the ocean as large as Kentucky.

The approval given by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prohibits the utilization of fishing materials such as trawls, bottom longlines, floor traps and dredges in identified marine areas.

"Destructive fishing gear can wreak havoc in coral gardens by essentially bulldozing millions of pounds of ancient corals that can take hundreds of years to grow back," said Gib Brogan, fishery campaign manager for Oceana. "By conserving habitats that have high concentrations of corals, the Council is also helping to protect the larger ocean ecosystem where many commercially and recreationally valuable fish species make their homes."

Corals in the canyon included in the plan are habitats to sea creatures being widely used in the commercial sector. The inhabitants of the said corals include lobster, hake, red crab and flounder. Scientists have named the areas where the corals settle as old-growth forests as these accommodate various unique marine species.

Aside from corals, the canyons also serve as locations for other habitats including cold seeps. Creatures who rely on chemicals, instead of sunlight, for energy stay in these places as they emit gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide that froth up the ocean floor.

"These resources are generally pristine," said Sewell.

Through the full approval and implementation of this new plan, it is highly expected that advanced protective measures will be extended to these coral reefs, so that other threats can also be prevented. These threats include deep-sea mining and other invasive actions that harm ocean oils and gas sources in the said marine zones.

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters/Jim Maragos | Flickr