The federal government is agreeing to determine within seven months whether 82 species of coral should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The agreement is part of a federal court settlement filed today, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. 

The settlement means federal officials have until April 15, 2012 to determine which coral species should get protection status. Among the species under consideration are blue rice coral, which is found only in Hawaii, and Hawaiian reef coral, along with other species found in the Pacific.

The center’s director, Miyoko Sakashita, called the settlement a “victory for corals.”

“Unless we protect them right now, coral reefs will be lost within decades,” Sakashita said in a statement. “And our grandchildren will never see these colorful underwater forests teeming with life.”

Sakashita said that the corals in question have declined by more than 30 percent over a 30-year period due to pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification and other threats associated with global warming.