A new coral reef province covering almost 200 sq km has been discovered off the west coast of Ireland.
The discovery was made during a recent deep-water expedition undertaken by researchers from NUI Galway.
The reef province, which is located on the southern end of the Porcupine Bank off the west coast of Ireland contains 40 coral reef covered underwater hills which rise as high as 100 metres above the seafloor.
“These are by far the most pristine, thriving and hence spectacular examples of cold-water coral reefs that I’ve encountered in almost ten years of study in Irish waters. 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," said Dr Anthony Grehan, NUI Galway,
The deep-water research expedition took place earlier this month aboard the Marine Institute research vessel, the RV Celtic Explorer. The expedition, which was led by Dr Grehan, was a collaboration between NUI Galway and the Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER).
The NUI Galway study is part of a larger pan-European project funded by the European Commission’s 7th research Framework Programme, called ‘CoralFISH’ that is studying the interactions between corals, fish and fisheries.
Dr Grehan noted that vulnerable marine ecosystems such as coral reefs represent one of the last untapped reservoirs of potentially useful bio-compounds that might support the development of new anti-viral or anti-bacterial pharmaceuticals.
