Cold-Water Coral Reefs

Quick Links
  • NOAA Releases Report on the State of Deep Coral Ecosystems in the U.S.

  • BBC World television documentary on "Cold Coral Deep". High quality DVD copies of the film in PAL and/or NTSC format are available from the UNEP Coral Reef Unit.

  • Seamounts, deep-sea corals and fisheries, UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 25

  • The Cold-water Coral Data base and GIS: http://bure.unep-wcmc.org/marine/coldcoral/Run.htm

  • Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas, UNEP Regional Seas Report and Studies No. 178 (PDF File - 1355 Kb)


    This thicket of Paragorgia corals was viewed by the deep-sea submersible Alvin at 1,043 m depth. Photo: Barbara Hecker
    • Cold water reefs are made up of stony corals like Lophelia pertusa which flourish in the plankton-rich currents on the continental shelves down to several hundreds of metres below sea level.

    Similar to tropical corals in their shape, size, complexity and function, these reefs are found in many oceans and provide habitats for thousands of species.

    Cold water corals grow very slowly and are just as vulnerable to environmental impacts as their tropical cousins. Human activities such as trawling in the fish-rich reefs have already left their mark, and have devastated many coral assemblies before scientists have had a chance to assess their full distribution and ecological role (view a map of the global distribution of cold-water corals).

    Thus, during the ICRI meeting held in Okinawa (July 2004), the ICRI Members recognised the richness in biodiversity of cold-water coral reefs and the threats they face and, noted that cold-water coral reefs are highly relevant to "ICRI's Call to Action".

    ICRI members agreed that ICRI should include cold water corals and related ecosystems within its remit including, inter alia, calling upon competent authorities and other bodies to take appropriate actions to conserve, protect and manage cold-water coral reefs and related ecosystems in a sustainable way.

    ICRI relevant documents

    For more information on Cold-Water Coral Reefs:

    • Reports / Publications
      • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States, providing new insight into the complex and biologically rich habitats found in deeper waters off the U.S. and elsewhere around the world.

        Called for in the President’s Ocean Action Plan, this peer-reviewed report contains an up-to-date assessment of deep coral ecosystems in U.S. waters. Each regional chapter was written by experts in the field of deep coral research. The report illustrates that deep corals, also known as “deep sea” or “cold-water” corals, are likely much more extensive and important to ocean ecosystems than previously known. Researchers have discovered multicolored sea fan corals in canyons and on seamounts in the Northeast Atlantic, complex reef-like stony coral structures on the continental shelf and slope in the Southeast U.S. and Gulf of Mexico, exceptionally rich coral gardens in the Aleutian Islands, and precious corals providing foraging habitat for endangered monk seals in Hawaii.

        The report discusses the vulnerability of deep corals to human activities and identifies the current threats to these habitats. This new understanding has prompted increased calls for protection of deep coral habitats in the U.S. and around the world. The report documents recent management actions by NOAA and the Regional Fishery Management Councils to protect over one half million square miles of the seafloor in the Pacific, including unique deep coral habitats, from damage by bottom-trawling.

        There are many areas in U.S. waters that appear likely to harbor deep coral habitats but have not been surveyed. Effective conservation efforts will require additional mapping and research to identify the locations of deep coral habitats and better understand these unique resources.The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-479) calls on NOAA to develop a Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program, and provides new authorities to facilitate management efforts.

      • Seamounts, deep-sea corals and fisheries, UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 25. This report reveals the global scale of the vulnerability of habitat-forming stony corals on seamounts – and that of associated marine biodiversity and assemblages – to the impacts of trawling, especially in areas beyond national jurisdiction. It provides some of the best scientific evidence to date to support the call for concerted and urgent action on the high seas to protect seamount communities and their associated resources from the adverse effects of deep-water fishing. Download the report.

      • A recent UN report on deep sea pollution addresses damage to the once pristine habitats of the deep oceans by pollution, litter and overfishing that is running out of control and indicates that time is running out to save them. The UN said humankind's exploitation of the deep seas and oceans was "rapidly passing the point of no return". Last year some 85 million tonnes of wild fish were pulled from the global oceans, 100 million sharks and related species were butchered for their fins, some 250,000 turtles became tangled in fishing gear, and 300,000 seabirds, including 100,000 albatrosses, were killed by illegal longline fishing. Into the water in their place went three billion individual pieces of litter - about eight million a day - joining the 46,000 pieces of discarded plastic that currently float on every square mile of ocean and kill another million seabirds each year. Pew Fellow Kristina Gjerde, high seas policy adviser with the International Conservation Union's global marine programme, who wrote the new report, said: "Once limited largely to shipping and open ocean fishing, commercial activities at sea are expanding rapidly and plunging ever deeper." She said the effects of climate change made conservation efforts more important. Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas, UNEP Regional Seas Report and Studies No. 178 (PDF File - 1355 Kb)

      • "Current: the Journal of Marine Education" on deep-sea corals.

      • A new habitat characterization report describes deep reef sites off the South Atlantic bight, and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's proposal for MPAs with no-take zones to help protect overfished species and spawning locations. Sedberry, G.R. et al., "Characterization of Deep Reef Habitat off the Southeastern U.S., with Particular Emphasis on Discovery, Exploration and Description of Reef Fish Spawning Sites, Final Report." Charleston, S.C.: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resources Research Institute, April 2004. Final Report (PDF File - 1132 KB)

      • Report of the Conference: "Europe’s Hidden Coral Worlds" (PDF File - 565 KB) organised jointly by The Royal Society of Edinburgh & The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)

      • The proceedings of the Second International Deep-sea Coral Symposium, Erlangen, entitled "Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems," edited by Andre Freiwald and Murray Roberts, has been published. For more information or to order.

      • The Status of the Cold-Water Coral Reefs of the world (PDF File - 2074 KB) (from the Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2004)

      • Cold-water Coral Reefs: Out of Sight - No Longer Out of Mind (*) - This report presents comprehensive and up-to-date information and data on marine cold-water coral reefs from around the world. The report was supported by the governments of Ireland, Norway and the UK as well as WWF and UNEP and is being published under the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre's Biodiversity Series.
        For more information, contact the UNEP Coral Reef Unit, Stefan Hain (stefan.hain@unep-wcmc.org) or Emily Corcoran (emily.corcoran@unep-wcmc.org))

        It is available for download at: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources/publications/UNEP_WCMC_bio_series/22.htm.

        (*) Freiwald, A., Fosså, J.H., Grehan, A., Koslow, T., Roberts, J.M. 2004. Cold-water Coral Reefs. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK.

      • Occurrences of Habitat-forming Deep Sea Corals in the Northeast Pacific Ocean, prepared by MCBI and published by NOAA, synthesizes 2,649 coral records and integrates the best available information about the distribution of these beautiful yet fragile animals. You can download the report at: http://www.mcbi.org/destructive/Coral_Occurrences.htm

      • Scoping Study: protection of vulnerable high seas and deep oceans biodiversity and associated oceans governance report to the UK department of food, environment and rural affairs (DEFRA) by the joint nature conservation committee (May 2004) (PDF File - 2.00 MB)

    • Useful links: