S.C. reef system possible national marine monument...

A quarter of a mile under the sea, rows of 500-foot tall coral reef pinnacles form a forest for deep water fish, shrimp, crabs and other marine species many scientists didn't know existed until a decade ago.

The unique ecosystem is about 50 miles off the South Carolina coast and stretches 25,000 square miles from North Carolina to Florida. It extends more than a mile deep and could be one of the largest deep-water coral reef systems in the world, said Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.

At the request of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Gov. Mark Sanford wrote to President Bush earlier this month to ask him to declare the reef system a national marine monument, which would protect it from oil exploration, dredging and other bottom damaging activities, including fishing with certain equipment that could harm the corals...[TheState.com]