Coral species off the coast of Florida will receive new protections after the federal government settled a suit with an environmental group.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the U.S. Department of Commerce agreed to settle with the Center for Biological Diversity over critical habitat designations for a total of 12 threatened coral species.

"Corals are the most productive environments in the oceans," said Emily Jeffers with the Center. "Reefs provide the basis for entire ecosystems and they're extremely important for the rest of the food web. I think it’s very fair to say they are the backbone of the ecosystem."

The five threatened coral species found near Florida were listed as threatened in September 2014 under the Endangered Species Act. As such, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service should have proposed critical habitat protections by September 2015.

"NMFS's failure to designate critical habitat violates its mandatory duty under the (Endangered Species) Act," the lawsuit says.

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Critical habitat designations add a layer of protection to threatened or endangered species.

These habitats include "specific areas occupied by the threatened or endangered species with 'physical or biological features ... essential to the conservation of the species,'" the Center's original filing says.

Fisheries Service spokeswoman Allison Garret declined to comment on the settlement. The U.S. Department of Justice represented NOAA and the Fisheries Service in court.

The settlement will force the Fisheries Service to submit proposed designations on or before July 31, 2020.

"NMFS agrees to submit proposed critical habitat determinations for the relevant species to the Federal Register no later than July 31, 2020," Wyn Hornbuckle, a DOJ spokesman wrote in an email.

Calls for comment from Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross were left unreturned by deadline. NOAA is part of the department.

While five of the threatened species are found in Florida and the Caribbean, the other seven species are found around islands in the Pacific Ocean and will receive the same critical habitat designations.

The center sent a letter to NOAA with its intent to file suit on March 28, 2019, and NOAA responded May 28, 2019 saying it was "reviewing relevant information required for a critical habitat designation and it could submit proposed designation ... in February 2020," the settlement says.

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Having NMFS designate critical habitat for the corals is just one way the center is hoping to protect the ocean ecosystems. It is trying to get the Food and Drug Administration to ban sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate.

The Florida Senate recently passed legislation that would prohibit local governments from banning such sunscreens, according to the Miami Herald.

"(Corals) are under such a barrage that anything we can do to protect them (helps)," Jeffers said. "Reducing carbon emissions is going to be most impactful, same with establishing critical habitat and not putting chemicals in the oceans."

Karl Schneider is an environment reporter. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @karlstartswithk, email him at kschneider@gannett.com

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