September 3, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC):
“Wow! Look at that…This is unbelievable!” Those words became a familiar refrain for Dave Packer and colleagues during a July 23-August 6 deep-sea coral cruise in the Gulf of Maine aboard the 76-foot research vessel Connecticut.
Using the small remotely operated vehicle Kraken 2, a team of scientists explored areas of Jordan Basin, the Schoodic Ridges, northern Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and western Wilkinson Basin during the 15-day cruise. The team completed 21 dives and spent nearly 119 hours underwater visiting 13 distinct stations, including some in the central Jordan Basin along the U.S./Canadian boundary.
The highlight of the cruise was finding tall, dense hanging gardens of Primnoa coral at depths of about 200 meters (656 feet) blanketing vertical walls 8 to 12 meters high (roughly 26 to 40 feet) in the Schoodic Ridges area. Primnoa corals, also known as sea fans, are found in many areas of the world, including the Arctic, North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans. Images of Primnoa and Paramuricea corals, sponges, fishes and other marine life were captured on video and digital still cameras on the ROV, and 134 samples of corals and other associated marine life were collected for taxonomic, histological, and genetic analyses.
“Few people realize that the Gulf of Maine is home to many beautiful deep-sea corals, about which we know so little,” said Packer, a marine ecologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)’s Howard Laboratory at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and co-chief scientist on the cruise. “Off the Northeast U.S., the very deep submarine canyons and seamounts far out along the edge of the continental shelf exhibit a high biodiversity of deep-sea corals, some of which may be hundreds if not thousands of years old,” Packer said. “Seeing high densities of several of these species in relatively shallow waters close to shore is amazing. The hanging gardens were spectacular!”
Read the full release from the NEFSC