In recent years scientists have discovered deep-sea corals and/or coral reefs in Japan, Tasmania, New Zealand, Alaska, California, Nova Scotia, Maine, North Carolina, Florida, Colombia, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, UK, Ireland and Mauritania. Because research submarines and remotely operated vehicles suitable for studying the deep sea are few and expensive to operate, scientific investigation of these remarkable communities is in its very early stages. But it is increasingly clear that deep-sea corals usually inhabit places where natural disturbance is rare, and where growth and reproduction appear to be exceedingly slow. Deep-sea corals and sponges may live for centuries, making them and the myriad species that depend on them extremely slow to recover from disturbance.
Unfortunately, just as scientists have begun to understand the diversity, importance and vulnerability of deep-sea coral forests and reefs, humans have developed technologies that profoundly disturb them. There is reason for concern about deep-sea oil and gas development, deep-sea mining and global warming, but, at present, the greatest human threat to coral and sponge communities is commercial fishing, especially bottom trawling. Trawlers are vessels that drag large, heavily weighted nets across the seafloor to catch fishes and shrimps. Scientific studies around the world have shown that trawling is devastating to corals and sponges. As trawlers become more technologically sophisticated, and as fishes disappear from shallower areas, trawling is increasingly occurring at depths exceeding 1,000 meters.
It is not too late to save most of the world's deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. We commend nations including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Norway, which have already taken initial steps towards protecting some coral and sponge ecosystems under their jurisdiction. We urge the United Nations and appropriate international bodies to establish a moratorium on bottom trawling on the High Seas. Similarly, we urge individual nations and states to ban bottom trawling to protect deep-sea ecosystems wherever coral forests and reefs are known to occur within their Exclusive Economic Zones. We urge them to prohibit roller and rockhopper trawls and any similar technologies that allow fishermen to trawl on the rough bottoms where deep-sea coral and sponge communities are most likely to occur. We urge them to support research and mapping of vulnerable deep-sea coral and sponge communities. And we urge them to establish effective, representative networks of marine protected areas that include deep-sea coral and sponge communities.
2006-10-31 07:44:49
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answer #1
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answered by Geo06 5
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A shallow water coral reef would be ruled by skill of coral species that remember partly on photosynthesis for potential to advance. in spite of the undeniable fact that different coral species do no longer photosynthesise and rather remember basically on nutrition clear out fed from the water around them. those species can consequently exist in deep water faraway from the easy. The link right here supplies some places of deep sea coral reefs. by skill of how coral reefs % no longer be made in basic terms of coral. Oysters, sponges, etc may well be reef forming. additionally technically speaking a reef won't be organic and organic in orgin in any respect.
2016-11-26 20:36:37
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answer #2
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answered by ? 4
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There are no deep sea corals, they are warm, shallow water organisms for the most part. There are a few cold water corals, and there is carbonate ooze above the CCD, but there are no corals at the ocan bottom.
2006-10-31 05:19:04
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answer #3
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answered by QFL 24-7 6
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