Cold water coral reefs, sponge fields, coral gardens

• The MBA has a distinguished record of research in marine science and basic biology and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2009. Our research has included Nobel prize winning work on squid giant axons, the effects of the Torrey Canyon oil disaster, and long term change in the Western English Channel. Our partners at the University of Plymouth have been exploring the UKs deep-sea and helping to protect its sensitive habitats for more than 5 years.
• Fishing activities now occur to a depth of nearly 2km, and oil and gas activities are moving further offshore with potentially disastrous effects e.g. the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Cold water coral reefs are extremely fragile and are currently under threat from human activities such as bottom trawling. They are extremely slow growing and take 100s of years to recover.

Project goal:

The 'Mapping the deep' project will tackle the principle cause of destruction of the UK's cold water coral reefs, coral gardens and other vulnerable habitats (that is destruction caused by contact with bottom trawl gear), by providing maps of their distribution in order that appropriate protection measures such as the creation of marine protected areas, can be taken.

"The funding provided by the BBC Wildlife Fund will make a real difference in helping to protect one of the last great wilderness' on the planet. It is odd to think that we have a complete map of the surface of Mars, and yet efforts to map the deep-sea are only just beginning.

This project will develop the first maps of the distribution of vulnerable habitats within the UK's deep-sea area. Once we know where they are, we can make sure they are protected for future generations" Dr Kerry Howell, Academic Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth