WWF: Zásadní nová zjištění ve výzkumu studenovodních korálů

New findings released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WWF highlight the discovery that cold-water corals are far more widespread and numerous than had previously been thought.

The findings are part of a full report, Cold-Water Coral Reefs: Out of Sight- No Longer Out of Mind, to be launched at the end of June.

The preliminary results have been released to mark World Environment Day, and call for greater conservation measures to protect these mysterious habitats from further damage.

It is crucial that protection is given to these cold-water corals as they grow slowly — only a tenth of the growth rate of warm-water tropical corals — and are home to thousands of other species, including commercially important fish populations.

This rich web of life is a double edged sword since cold-water corals are particularly vulnerable to impacts such as damage from heavy deep-sea fishing gear which targets productive bottom habitats and surrounding waters.

Some reefs in the East Atlantic have already been destroyed, and many others show significant scars from trawling.

As well as certain destructive fishing methods, other threats include impacts from oil and gas exploration and production, the laying of cables and telecommunications links and waste disposal.

Some countries, including Norway, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, have placed some of their cold-water corals — such as the Darwin Mounds off the North west coast of Scotland — under tighter protection.

Scientists hope that the discovery that cold-water corals are widespread and valuable will spur other nations to consider precautionary measures to protect them, for example, by designating cold-water coral reefs within marine protected areas (MPAs).

As well as the corals themselves, many of the fish species found living in and around cold-water corals are also slow growing and have lower reproductive rates than shallower living species such as herring and cod.

These deep-water fishes, which include orange roughy, blue ling, roundnose grenadier, black scabbardfish and some deep water sharks, are increasingly being targeted as trawlers switch from traditional fishing grounds as stocks dwindle.

"Cold-water corals play a crucial role in the marine environment," said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF's global Marine Programme. "They can help to replenish fish stocks and provide habitats for species such as deep water sharks, fish and crustaceans. We could very easily lose the potentially massive benefits these corals provide if they continue to be destroyed for the sake of short-term economic interests."

Cold-water corals were thought to be largely confined to waters in the northern hemisphere, off the coasts of countries such as Canada, Scandinavia and the British Isles.

However, using the latest submersible technologies researchers are now discovering cold-water coral ecosystems in many of the world’s seas and oceans including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, as far afield as the Galapagos Islands, Brazil, Indonesia and Angola.

"To date our main thrust in respect to corals has been to conserve and better manage those found in the warm, tropical waters," said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director. "The discovery that cold-water corals are more numerous and more widespread than had previously been thought, highlights how the natural world remains full of surprises and how our focus may need to be broadened."