SAMS Scientist Lyndsey
Dodds with live coral sample from Mingulay
Reef complex, Inner Hebrides Islands, UK.
18/05/2005 — We've set sail with the Scottish
Association for Marine Science (SAMS) to explore
one of the oldest and least understood habitats
on Earth. Using remotely operated vehicles
(ROVs) - small, unmanned submarines - scientists
onboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza will
study, sample and document the fascinating
underwater world off the coast of Scotland.
The expedition to the Mingulay reef, located
in around 150m of water off the west coast
of Scotland, will provide vital scientific
data on one of the biggest cold-water coral
reef complexes so far discovered in UK waters.
During the expedition, which set off from
Greenock, near Glasgow, on 12 May, scientists
will also be looking for any evidence of damage
to the reef. Although the extent of any damage
to the Mingulay reef is currently unknown,
coral habitats around the world face many
threats - particularly from destructive fishing
practices such as bottom trawling.
Bottom trawlers drag heavily weighted fishing
nets across the seabed - effectively steamrolling
the ocean floor and smashing everything in
the way.
The Scottish Marine Association's ROV, on
board the Esperanza.
Bottom trawling is the number one threat to
fragile cold-water coral structures, which
provide habitats for a diverse range of species
including fish, sponges, starfish, sea urchins
and crustaceans. Lophelia reefs also serve
as important fish spawning and nursery grounds.
It takes one year for Lophelia to grow 2.5cm.
It takes just one typical fishing trip for
a bottom trawler to sweep approximately 33
square kilometres of the seabed.
We are calling for a moratorium on high seas
bottom trawling to protect ocean life.
