Coral Reefs

SYDNEY - Australian authorities signaled their seriousness about protecting the Great Barrier Reef with a court issuing fines Friday for a ship that entered a restricted area a day after a coal carrier ran aground and tore a huge gash in the reef.

SYDNEY - Australian police arrested a Chinese ship captain and officer Wednesday and charged them with damaging the Great Barrier Reef, more than a week after their coal carrier ran aground and tore a two-mile (three-kilometer) gash in the protected area.