A shrimp boat plowed into a coral reef off Mexico’s coast this weekend, causing extensive damage to 1,290 square yards of coral, one of the worst cases of damage to a Mexican reef in years. Marine traffic is outlawed in the reef area near Cancun, but the boat moved into the area after its engines stalled in bad weather. Environmental authorities are searching for the boat, whose owners may be forced to pay up to $1.5 million for the damage.
