Trawling damage to Northeast Atlantic ancient coral reefs.
This contribution documents widespread trawling damage to cold-water coral reefs at 840-1300 m depth along the West Ireland continental shelf break and at 200 m off West Norway. These reefs are spectacular but poorly known. By-catches from commercial trawls for deep-water fish off West Ireland included large pieces (up to 1 m(2)) of coral that had been broken from reefs and a diverse array of coral-associated benthos. Five azooxanthellate scleractinarian corals were identified in these by-catches, viz. Desmophyllum cristagalli, Enallopsammia rostrata, Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata and Solenosmilia variabilis. Dating of carbonate skeletons using (14)C accelerator mass spectrometry showed that the trawled coral matrix was at least 4550 years old. Surveys by remotely operated vehicles in Norway showed extensive fishing damage to L. pertusa reefs. The urgent need for deep-water coral conservation measures is discussed in a Northeast Atlantic context.
Hall-Spencer
Jason
J
University Marine Biological Station, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae KA28 0EG, UK. gbfa20@udcf.gla.ac.uk
Allain
Valerie
V
Fosså
Jan Helge
JH
D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003063:Cnidaria / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005398:Fisheries / Q000379:methods*; D007494:Ireland; D009664:Norway; D014741:Video Recording
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes