Reef

EVERYBODY IN LA JOLLA knew the Brodericks. Daniel T. Broderick III and his wife, Betty, seemed to have a classic society-page marriage. Dan was a celebrity in local legal circles. Armed with degrees from both Harvard Law School and Cornell School of Medicine, the prominent malpractice attorney was aggressive, persuasive and cunning--a $1-million-a-year lawyer at the top of his game.

Sharks, jacks, parrot fish and other colorful reef fish are quickly disappearing from coral reefs encircling the Hawaiian Islands, federal scientists reported Tuesday. The scientists blamed overfishing for the steep decline, which affects three-quarters of the species once commonly found on coral reefs, delighting snorkeling tourists and feeding subsistence fishermen in Hawaii's coastal communities.

I enjoyed reading Tracy Johnston's Feb. 15 article on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. But her descriptions of Green Island as "filled with day-trippers and fast-food stands" in contrast to "pleasant and relaxing" Heron Island could lead prospective visitors into making the wrong choice of resorts or prevent some with only a day to spend from visiting the reef altogether. I have stayed at and enjoyed both resorts. Green Island is best for those with limited time and money. Because of the excellent underwater observatory, reef movie theater and the large well-kept aquarium and museum, it is possible to get a good introduction to the reef and its inhabitants.

It begins just south of New Guinea, Australia's Great Barrier Reef--the mightiest structure ever created in the ocean, a coral wall nearly equal to the distance between New York and Miami, a travel attraction without match.

Surfers just can't catch a break at Dockweiler State Beach. An ambitious effort to use an artificial offshore reef there to create ridable ocean waves is a washout, its organizers concede. Disappointed long-boarders watching workers remove the sandbag-sided Pratte's Reef say the last big wave action was 26 years ago, when a spectacular wintertime El Nino storm system pounded the El Segundo shoreline.