Wonder of the deep in new coral reef discovery
SCIENTISTS have discovered a "spectacular" coral reef off the west coast which could lead to new medical treatments.
Researchers from NUI Galway said yesterday they were amazed that the reefs, which cover an area of 200 square kilometres on the seabed, were found in Irish waters.
The reefs were found 320km off the coast on the Porcupine Bank, and contain 40 coral underwater mounds, or hills, some of which rise to 100m.
Chief scientist Anthony Grehan said the area should be protected as marine ecosystems such as coral reefs represented one of the last untapped reservoirs of potentially useful compounds that might support the development of new anti-viral or anti-bacterial pharmaceuticals.
The reef is on rugged terrain, unsuitable for trawling, and Dr Grehan said it should be protected because coral areas also provided habitats for fish stocks.
"These are by far the most pristine, thriving and hence spectacular examples of cold-water coral reefs that I've encountered in almost 10 years of study in Irish waters," he said.
Evidence
"There is also evidence of recent recruitment of corals and many other reef animals in the area suggesting this area is an important source of larvae supply to other areas further along the Porcupine Bank."
Anna Rensdorf, also of NUIG and who had previously worked on tropical corals, said she could not believe that coral reefs like these could be found in the cold waters off Ireland.
"On many of the mounds surveyed, living coral thickets stood up to two metres high, where ordinarily they are less than a half a metre in height," she said.
The research expedition was a collaboration between NUIG and the Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER).
It took place earlier this month aboard the Marine Institute research vessel, the Celtic Explorer, using a new Remotely Operated Vehicle, the Holland, named after the Irish-born inventor of the first submarine, John Phillip Holland, from Liscannor, Co Clare.
- Paul Melia
