In June 2005, I told you that the National Marine Fisheries Service had concluded that elkhorn and staghorn coral populations were so endangered that they warranted being listed as an endangered species. According to the NMFS, damage caused by high temperatures, disease, and damage from hurricanes resulted in as much as 95% loss in some locations.
Since then, getting the corals listed as endangered has been ongoing, and just this week, the US government agreed to list them as "threatened" under federal species protection laws. In other words, if you are caught taking or damaging the corals, you could could face civil and/or criminal charges, which carry penalties of up to $50,000 and 1 year in jail.
