Cold water coral discovery off Washington

Coral jungle discovered in the cold Pacific waters of the US northwest.

"It was really breathtaking," said researcher Mary Sue Brancato, describing "huge red sea corals atop boulders that had rockfish all over them."

Sadly, most of the sites have been damaged by fishing. Some were "festooned" with abandoned fishing gear, and others were crushed or overturned, with the telltale tracks of bottom-trawling fishing nets nearby.

Despite being in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, most of the sites are unprotected. Recently enacted coral protection zones were placed elsewhere, where few people fish, at the behest of the fishing industry.

Who's driving the boat?

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