Only in Sweden coral reef destruction threatens

Coral reefs are famous for their rich variety of life forms. In the waters of Sweden, there is only one deep-sea reef-building coral called Lophelia Pertusa. For the life and growth of these corals require an environment with a constant high salinity level and low water temperature all year round. In Sweden, these conditions only exist in the Northern part Bohuslan where is the deep Norwegian Trench.







Says one of the researchers, marine biologist Michael Dahl, early in the Koster fjord cold coral reefs grew in three places. Today the only remains of the reef sacken, and it is in poor condition. One of the reasons that led to this, scientists believe the effects of trawling (even after 10 years of the ban on trawl fishing), and increasing sediment from eutrophication.





Continuous observations using underwater vehicles with remote control (ROV) shows that the health of the reef slowly, but continues to decline. Three years ago, about reef sacken was formed is Sweden's first marine Park – Kosterhavet National Park, but this has not led to improvement of the corals. Scientists say they hope for a natural recovery of the reef Saken quite small.

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