New Reserve For Florida As Fish Stocks Deplete

"In the wake of a warning earlier this month that the world's seafood stocks could be depleted by 2048, Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and his cabinet have signed off on a pioneering marine protection plan that some experts say should become a model for the nation. All fishing will be banned in a 46-square-mile stretch of ocean 70 miles west of Key West, which will be incorporated within the Dry Tortugas National Park to create the largest marine reserve in the continental US."

"With stocks of cod, grouper, and other once-prevalent fish at record lows nationwide - for example, the Ocean Conservancy estimates that numbers of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico are at barely 3 percent of historic levels - few dispute the need for immediate action. Florida's plan comes amid other moves nationwide to protect the nation's waters."