And by using the global positioning satellite network, vessels' positions can be monitored automatically, as is already the case around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Georges Bank off the coast of Maine.

ECONOMIST: Marine conservation

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral cover in the past 27 years, a new study shows.

BBC: Half of Great Barrier Reef coral lost in last 27 years

The reefs, the second biggest system in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef, are under threat from nickel mining on New Caledonia, Green groups say.

CNN: Green bid to preserve Pacific reef

Studies of Australia's Great Barrier Reef show that levels of calcification are down, though it is not yet possible to say changes in chemistry are a reason for this.

ECONOMIST: Ocean acidification

The project consists of three mines holding 7.92 billion tons of coal resources, a planned 300 mile railway capable of carrying 60 million tons annually, and a port built to the same capacity at Abbot Point on Australia's Great Barrier Reef coast.

WSJ: GVK: Bidders Line up for Giant Australian Coal Mine

She began her trip in Hawaii and island-hopped her way to Fiji then Australia, taking surf lessons, diving the Great Barrier Reef and visiting eucalyptus rainforests along the way.

BBC: How I quit my job to travel: The Washington DC lawyer