Bush to establish 3 marine monuments in Pacific

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In this photo released by NOAA, dense populations of coral and pink coralline algae are found along the outer slopes at Rose Atoll in America Samoa in this photo, date unknown. The fan-shaped coral pictured here is Pavona duerdeni. Parts of three remote and uninhabited Pacific island chains are being set aside by President George W. Bush as national monuments to protect them from oil and gas extraction and commercial fishing in what will be the largest marine conservation effort in history. The three areas _ totaling some 195,280 square miles _ include the Mariana Trench and the waters and corals surrounding three uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atoll in American Samoa and seven islands strung along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/NOAA, Jean Kenyon)

(AP) -- The home of a giant land crab, a sunken island ringed by pink-colored coral, and equatorial waters teeming with sharks and other predators are being designated national marine monuments by President George W. Bush in the largest marine conservation effort in history.