News-Record.com

Wednesday's lead editorial.

North Carolina’s most spectacular and unspoiled natural habitat doesn’t get many visitors. It’s so remote that most people would never notice if harm came to it.

That’s exactly why it deserves strong protection before it’s too late.

The Lophelia banks lie in deep North Carolina coastal waters, part of a chain of coral formations stretching from New England to the Florida keys. Only scientists in specially designed submersibles have seen them, but their findings portray an immensely rich ecosystem teeming with life but also extremely vulnerable to human disturbance.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council already recommends designating the Lophelia banks an area of concern, but there are calls for stronger steps. Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina asked President Bush to declare the area a marine national monument. Immediately, the subject turned into a political issue. Her opponent for the Senate seat, Kay Hagan of Greensboro, claimed Dole was undermining her own position after earlier proposing a measure that could lead to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

“Elizabeth Dole wants President Bush to protect the same coral reefs she wants to drill into for more oil — that is completely hypocritical,” a Hagan news release said.

It’s not that bad. Designation as a marine natural monument would safeguard the coral formations from drilling. An energy bill co-sponsored by Dole would allow states to petition the U.S. Department of the Interior for permission to lease offshore fields for oil and gas exploitation. Proximity to fragile coral systems should give the government ample reason to say no.

There’s a more pressing danger, according to a recent report to Congress by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): “Disturbances to deep-sea coral communities from bottom-tending fishing gear, especially bottom trawl gear, are the best documented and pose the most widespread threat.” Energy exploration and development and laying of cables and pipelines are listed as other harmful activities.

One of the strongest arguments against offshore oil drilling rises from concern for the state’s fishing industry. But some fishing practices aren’t compatible with preservation of undersea resources. If it’s imperative to protect deep-sea corals from one threat, it’s imperative to protect them from all.

NOAA notes that “significant gaps in knowledge about deep-sea corals remain, including the location of many deep-sea coral assemblages and most aspects of their biology and ecology.” It proposes more funding for research and further steps toward preservation. These are sensible precautions.

Out of sight doesn’t justify out of mind for barely discovered natural treasures that play a still poorly understood role in the health of our oceans. Mistakes made out of ignorance might have costly consequences.