Cold-water coral reefs - WWF UK

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Cold-water coral reefs Norfolk Ridge or Lord Howe Rise in the northern Tasman Sea and southern Coral Sea. In contrast, some 60 per cent of non-mesopelagic decapod crustaceans found on the continental slope off southeastern Australia are also found in the Indo-west Pacific. Richer de Forges et al. (2000) speculated that the apparently localized distribution of many seamount species, in marked contrast to species distribution patterns in the deep sea generally, arises from topographic rectification of deep-water currents, such that they tend to follow the contours of the seamounts and seamount chains; many seamount species also have a limited larval phase in the plankton. This localization, combined with the presence of many apparently rare species, greatly increases the risk of extinction of biodiversity through the large-scale removal of benthic fauna from exploited seamounts. So far, only a small number of seamounts in the Pacific and Indian Ocean have been protected. Only a few countries have adopted national legislation and measures to conserve some of the seamount habitats and ecosystems in their territorial or EEZ waters. Seamounts in the Australian EEZ Scientific exploration of the benthic macrofauna and the associated fish community on the seamounts south of Tasmania and within the EEZ of Australia showed that the summits of these seamounts are rich in Solenosmilia variabilis (see Chapter 2) that provides a substrate for a diverse associated fauna (Koslow et al., 2001). On 16 May 1999, the Australian Government declared the Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (Figure 25). The management plan for the reserve came into effect under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 on 26 June 2002. The key objectives are: ❏ To add a representative sample of this unique seamount region to the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA). ❏ To protect the high biodiversity values of the seamount benthic communities from human-induced disturbance. The reserve is divided into two management zones with different objectives allowing different activities. A highly protected zone runs from a depth of 500 m to 100 m below the seabed and is managed to protect the integrity of the benthic ecosystem. This means that no method of fishing nor petroleum or mineral exploration is permitted in this zone. A managed resource zone stretches from the ocean surface to a depth of 500 m. Its aim is to ensure long-term Figure 25: The Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve as a marine protected area protecting cold-water corals and fish from trawling activities A. Freiwald, using GEBCO bathymetry Figure 26: Seamounts closed for fisheries within the exclusive economic zone of New Zealand Modified after Clark and O’Driscoll, 2003 51
Cold-water coral reefs Table 7: Seamounts closed for fisheries within the New Zealand EEZ Seamount Depth (m) Elevation (m) Area (km 2 ) Region 148 677 2 600 190 Northern North Island Cavalli 538 1 050 125 Northern North Island 140 1 750 2 900 590 Northern North Island Brothers 1 197 1 300 35 Northeast North Island Rumble 111 200 3 200 300 Northeast North Island Aotea 900 1 200 500 Western North Island Telecom 1 500 250 20 Western North Island 447 615 650 120 Western North Island Pinnie 600 200 5 Southern Chatham Rise Morgue 890 310 3 Northern Chatham Rise Pyre 1 004 200 1 Northern Chatham Rise Gothic 987 170 2 Northern Chatham Rise Diamond Head 603 500 3 Eastern Chatham Rise 328 1 750 1 200 600 Eastern Chatham Rise 358 1 652 2 400 2 000 Southwest South Island Bollons 800 3 600 35 000 Southeast New Zealand 375 684 570 460 Southern South Island Christable 910 2 400 2 170 Southern South Island 401 1 159 340 200 Southern New Zealand After Clark and O’Driscoll, 2003 protection and maintenance of biological diversity while allowing the tuna longline industry access to the surface waters. indicates severe impact from disruptive bottom fisheries. In many areas, cold-water coral ecosystems even in deep water are under serious threat. Seamounts in the New Zealand EEZ Maintenance of biodiversity and productive ecosystems on seamounts within the New Zealand EEZ are key goals of several government departments. In May 2001, the Ministry of Fisheries protected from bottom trawling and dredging 19 representative seamounts under a Seamounts Management Strategy (Anon., 2001). The seamounts are distributed around New Zealand's EEZ, including the Chatham Rise, subantarctic waters, and the east and west coasts of the northern part of North Island (Figure 26). The protected seamounts vary in size from the very large Bollons Seamount in the subantarctic to the tiny seamounts on the Chatham Rise (Table 7). Although little is known about their fauna, it is hoped this precautionary measure will protect representative faunas from a variety of habitat types. They are all unfished except for Morgue, which was included so that recolonization and regeneration could be monitored once fishing is removed (Clark and O’Driscoll 2003). Although we do not know exactly how many coral reefs and octocoral gardens exist in the oceans, current information obtained from all areas, though limited, clearly A school of crinoids (Koehlerometra) sitting on coral colonies, southeastern Rockall Bank, 850 m depth IFREMER, CARACOLE, 2001 52
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