1

Deep Sea Coral 

Research & Technology Program

2014 Report to Congress
2

“Deep-sea coral communities play an important role 

in the marine ecosystem and provide habitat for many 

species of fish and invertebrates. Most deep-sea corals 

are slow-growing and fragile, making them particularly 

vulnerable to damage from certain types of fishing gear, 

such as bottom trawls. A wide variety of species have 

been discovered off the Atlantic coast... 

Many recent deep-sea coral discoveries have been 

the result of NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program. Launched in 2009, the program 

has conducted in-depth, deep-water coral research on 

specific regions of the U.S., including the South Atlantic 

(2009-2011) and the Northeast (2013-2015).”

New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Councils joint press release 

“East Coast Fishery Managers Sign Agreement 

to Coordinate Deep Sea Coral Conservation”

July 29, 2013 
3

Cover Photo:

Bamboo coral with yellow crinoids observed more than 9,000 feet deep on Mytilus Seamount, off 

New England, in 2013.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................6

About Deep-Sea Corals................................................................................................................................. 9

Alaska Research Explores One of the World’s Richest Deep-Sea Coral Areas .....................................11

West Coast Research Supports Fishery Management .............................................................................17

 Video: 2012 West Coast Coral Research Cruise..................................................................................21

East Coast Research Leads to Habitat Conservation ...............................................................................23

 Video: 2013 Northeast Canyons Expedition........................................................................................27

NOAA Develops Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral Habitat Suitability Models .....................................30

U.S. Caribbean Research Explores Deep Waters.......................................................................................33

U.S. Pacific Islands Research is Set to Begin in 2015 ................................................................................33

Nationwide Efforts ........................................................................................................................................34

Looking Forward...........................................................................................................................................42

Appendix 1: 2012-2013 projects under the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program......43

Appendix 2: Deep-Sea Coral Areas with Potential for Interaction with Fishing Gear........................45
4 4

A Message from the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the stewardship of our nation’s living 

marine resources through science-based conservation and management and the promotion of healthy 

ecosystems. Some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems we seek to conserve are found in the deep sea 

where corals thrive beneath the reach of sunlight. NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program 

harnesses capabilities across NOAA to provide the scientific information needed to conserve these ecosystems.

Many deep-sea corals form large, complex habitats used by fish, crabs, and other marine species in every 

region of U.S. waters. These biodiversity hotspots are vulnerable to human disturbance because the corals 

grow extremely slowly. Once damaged, it might take them centuries or longer to recover. As stewards of these 

important yet fragile ecosystems, our agency is undertaking a range of activities to study and protect them. 

To conserve deep-sea coral ecosystems, it is critical to minimize the physical impacts on the corals. Some 

fishing operations use gear that contacts the seafloor and can potentially damage deep-sea corals. In 

collaboration with the Regional Fishery Management Councils, NMFS is working to reduce such interactions 

between fishing gear and corals. Doing so requires scientific information on the corals’ location, density and 

abundance. In recent years, our Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program has generated a growing 

body of knowledge on this subject through a broad array of partnerships with researchers and resource 

managers nationwide.

In this report, we present the Program’s research accomplishments in 2012 and 2013, and the progress we 

have made with the Councils to apply these findings to conserve and manage deep-sea coral habitats. We 

will continue to advance deep-sea coral science to enable habitat conservation actions under our stewardship 

mission for the benefit of the nation.

Eileen Sobeck

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
5

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) Deep Sea Coral 

Research and Technology Program (Program) was 

established under the authority of Section 408 of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (MSA), as reauthorized in 2006. 

This MSA-required biennial report to Congress and 

the public summarizes the steps taken by NOAA to 

identify, monitor, and protect deep-sea coral areas, 

including the Program’s research activities and 

results. The Program’s work, including this report, 

is developed in consultation with the Regional 

Fishery Management Councils, and is enhanced by 

the research and ongoing collaborations with other 

federal agencies, international partners, and nongovernmental and academic scientists.

The Program collaborates with other NOAA 

programs and offices, such as National Marine 

Sanctuaries, Ocean Exploration and Research, 

Fisheries Science Centers, Fisheries Regional 

Offices, and the National Centers for Coastal 

Ocean Science. These programs and offices support 

exploration, research, and management activities 

MSA Section 408: Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate regional fishery management councils 

and in coordination with other Federal agencies and educational institutions, shall, subject to the 

availability of appropriations, establish a program—

(1) to identify existing research on, and known locations of, deep sea corals and submit such 

information to the appropriate councils;

(2) to locate and map locations of deep sea corals and submit such information to the councils;

(3) to monitor activity in locations where deep sea corals are known or likely to occur, based on best 

scientific information available, including through underwater or remote sensing technologies and 

submit such information to the appropriate councils;

(4) to conduct research, including cooperative research with fishing industry participants, on deep 

sea corals and related species, and on survey methods;

(5) to develop technologies or methods designed to assist fishing industry participants in reducing 

interactions between fishing gear and deep sea corals; and

(6) to prioritize program activities in areas where deep sea corals are known to occur, and in areas 

where scientific modeling or other methods predict deep sea corals are likely to be present.

(b) REPORTING- Beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

councils, shall submit biennial reports to Congress and the public on steps taken by the Secretary to 

identify, monitor, and protect deep sea coral areas, including summaries of the results of mapping, 

research, and data collection performed under the program.

critical to understanding and managing deepsea corals and other trust resources. The Program 

actively works to leverage the activities conducted 

by these NOAA groups. 

This report describes the 2012 and 2013 research 

activities executed by NOAA project teams with 

funding provided by the Program. It also briefly 

describes progress during this period in MSArelated management actions that contribute 

toward protecting deep-sea coral areas. This report 

is supplemented by summaries of individual 

Program-funded projects available online at 

www.habitat.noaa.gov/deepseacorals.

A subset of deep-sea coral research activities funded 

and carried out by other NOAA programs and 

offices and other agencies are briefly acknowledged 

in the report but not specifically discussed as they 

are outside the scope of this report.

About this Report
6 6

At $2.46 million in FY 2012 and $2.37 million in 

FY 2013, NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program is cost-effective in generating 

information of immediate use to Regional Fishery 

Management Councils and other resource managers 

in conserving structurally complex habitats formed 

by deep-sea corals. 

In every region, off of every coast, deep-sea corals 

can be found growing slowly on the seafloor below 

the photic (sunlight) zone in U.S. waters. While some 

of these corals are solitary and never grow bigger 

than a baseball, other species form colonies shaped 

like branching trees more than 10 feet tall, or build 

extensive reefs resembling the shallow, tropical, 

coral reefs that attract fish and divers. The threedimensional structures of deep-sea corals provide 

shelter, feeding sites, and nursery grounds to a wide 

range of marine life. Not only do they represent 

areas of locally high biodiversity essential to our 

ocean’s health, they also support commercially 

important fish stocks in several regions. 

Throughout the country, the Councils are 

increasingly engaged in developing methods to 

manage potential impacts of fisheries to deep-sea 

coral areas, recognizing these habitats’ role in the 

ecosystem. And yet, the geographic distribution of 

deep-sea corals and the full extent of their function 

as fish habitats have not been adequately studied in 

a coordinated fashion, thus limiting some Councils’ 

ability to design management measures. In 2012 and 

2013, the Program has made considerable progress 

in filling these knowledge gaps by locating and 

characterizing deep-sea coral sites and submitting 

the findings to the Councils.

In the Southeast, the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council used the results from 

Program-funded fieldwork to amend its Coral 

Fishery Management Plan in 2013 with measures 

that increase coral protection areas by 843 square 

miles and maintain the viability of the existing 

deepwater shrimp and golden crab fisheries. 

In the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England 

Fishery Management Councils are considering 

using their discretionary authority under the MSA 

to designate deep-sea coral protection zones in 

submarine canyons, on seamounts, and at hardsubstrate sites on the continental shelf where corals 

Executive Summary

are likely to exist. To support the Councils, research 

cruises sponsored by the Program in 2012 and 2013 

surveyed these areas of interest and documented 

coral presence and their associated species. 

Off the West Coast, fieldwork at sea and shore-based 

analyses supported by our Program generated a 

large amount of new information on the distribution 

of corals and sponges and their associated habitats 

which was submitted to the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council for the periodic review 

of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for groundfish. 

This information included not just underwater 

observations of corals but also aggregated data from 

fishery observers that help illustrate the degree of 

interactions between fishing gear and corals.

In Alaska, home to some of the nation’s most 

abundant and diverse deep-sea coral communities, 

our Program is funding a 3-year fieldwork initiative 

to ascertain the extent of deep-sea coral distribution 

and habitat value in the Aleutian Islands and Gulf 

of Alaska. The research to date has expanded our 

knowledge of coral presence and absence at about 

100 sites in the Aleutians and four areas in the Gulf. 

The science team supported by the Program is also 

analyzing fish populations in coral and non-coral 

sites, and determining the extent of interactions 

between bottom longlines and seafloor organisms. 

We expect these studies to inform the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 2015 review 

of groundfish EFH and other ecosystem-based 

management processes.

Meanwhile, the Program is preparing for a 3-year 

fieldwork initiative in the Pacific Islands region 

starting in 2015.

Parallel to these regional studies, we are collating 

records of deep-sea coral locations—derived from 

both historical data and recent fieldwork from 

around the country—into a national geographic 

database. The database, containing more than 

200,000 deep-sea coral records of consistent format 

and quality, will be publicly available online in 2014 

to supplement and enhance our ongoing efforts to 

submit information to the Councils. The Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council, in particular, 

expects to use the database in evaluating the need to 

protect deep-sea coral areas. 
7

This report describes these management-relevant 

research activities conducted by offices throughout 

NOAA with funding from the Deep Sea Coral 

Research and Technology Program. It also briefly 

describes the progress in deep-sea coral management 

in the regions as it relates to the Program’s research 

findings. A full list of funded projects appears in 

Appendix 1.

Executive Summary (continued)

Scientists deploying a camera sled to survey coral habitats in the northern Gulf of Maine in 2013.

We hope to continue this progress through 

collaborations with the Councils and internal and 

external research partners to fulfill the Program’s 

mandate.
8 8

NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral

Research and Technology 

Program 2012 & 2013 by the numbers

$2.46M2012 

funding $2.37M2013 

funding6,193

156

square miles mapped by sonar

days of at-sea research

4,200+ yrs

estimated age of some black corals

regional

8

fishery

management

councils 200,532

records in the national 

deep-sea coral geodatabase

200-10,000 ft.

depths of fieldwork research

6 council regions that 

have predictive deep-sea 

coral models
9

Deep-sea corals can live for hundreds or thousands of years, creating remarkably complex communities in the 

depths of the oceans from where the light is dim down to more than 10,000 feet. In the United States, deep-sea 

coral habitats have been discovered in all regions on continental shelves and slopes, canyons, and seamounts. Their 

full geographic extent is still unknown because most areas have yet to be adequately surveyed. 

A few deep-sea coral species form reefs that, 

over millennia, can grow more than 300 feet 

tall. Many other species shaped like bushes or 

trees can form assemblages similar to groves 

or forests on the seafloor. 

Nationwide, these complex structures 

provide habitat for many fish and invertebrate 

species, including certain commercially 

important ones such as grouper, snapper, sea 

bass, rockfish, shrimp, and crab. Moreover, 

organisms that live in deep-sea coral habitats 

produce chemicals having great potential for 

biomedical uses, and some deep-sea coral 

species have commercial value as jewelry and 

art objects.

Most deep-sea corals grow extremely 

slowly. Once damaged, the corals and the 

communities they support may take centuries 

to recover, if they recover at all. Deep-sea 

corals are vulnerable to disturbance caused by 

fishing gear such as bottom trawls that contact 

the seafloor. They can also be damaged by 

activities associated with energy exploration 

and development, cable deployment, and 

other activities that disturb the seafloor. In 

addition, ocean acidification—a result of the 

ocean absorbing increased carbon dioxide—

can adversely affect corals’ ability to grow or 

maintain their structures.

Deep-sea stony corals range from small 

individual cup corals to large, branching 

species, like this Lophelia pertusa colony off 

Eastern Florida, that form extensive deepwater reefs. 

Gold corals, some of which have been 

harvested for jewelry, are unique in that 

they grow on the skeletons of other deep-sea 

corals and can live for thousands of years. 

Gorgonians, like this fan-shaped colony 

of red coral (Corallium sp.) on Davidson 

Seamount, are among the most diverse 

deep-sea corals.

Black corals often resemble bushes or 

trees. Some black corals may be the world’s 

oldest living marine organisms. This black 

coral off Hawaii was estimated to be more 

than 4,000 years old.

Sea pens, like these off Alaska, are related 

to gorgonians. But unlike most other 

deep-sea corals, they live in soft sediments 

where they can form large fields. 

Lace corals, like these off California, are 

actually hydroids and only distantly related 

to other corals.

About Deep-Sea Corals
10 10

Alaska Highlights

•	The Alaska region has abundant, large deep-sea corals and sponges that are used by

 commercially important species as habitat. 

•	Bycatch records indicate that for certain fisheries in certain discrete areas there are fishing

 gear interactions with deep-sea corals and sponges.

•	The Program’s 2012–2014 fieldwork expands the scientific knowledge on the distribution

 of deep-sea coral and sponge habitats and their associations with commercially fished species. 
11

Deep-sea corals occur throughout Alaska’s Pacific 

waters, including the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, 

and the continental shelf and upper slope of the Gulf 

of Alaska. Fishes and crabs, particularly juveniles, are 

commonly observed in coral habitats, presumably 

using the coral areas to hide from predators or to 

seek prey. The Aleutian Islands, in particular, are 

home to the most abundant high-latitude, nonreef-building deep-sea corals in the world and has 

the highest coral diversity in Alaska. Southeast of 

the Aleutians, in the Gulf of Alaska, red tree coral 

(Primnoa pacifica) can grow to several meters tall 

and form dense thickets, and the coral’s associations 

with commercially important rockfish species have 

been well documented. Deep-sea sponges, either 

alone or in association with corals, also create 

complex habitats in these regions. Deep-sea corals 

and sponges are caught as bycatch in certain areas 

off Alaska, indicating interactions between fishing 

gear and the habitats created by these structureforming organisms.

A 3-year fieldwork initiative to study deep-sea coral 

and sponge ecosystems in Alaska began in 2012 

with funding from the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program. The initiative was designed 

to support fishery managers with spatially explicit 

and quantitative scientific findings so they can make 

informed decisions to reduce bycatch, conserve 

habitats, and maintain sustainable fisheries. The 

research results are expected to be incorporated into 

the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 

5-year groundfish essential fish habitat (EFH) 

review, Aleutian Islands Fishery Ecosystem Plan, 

and Ecosystem Considerations report—an annual 

summary of new information about the Alaska 

marine ecosystem. The initiative’s science team also 

provides annual presentations to the Council on the 

fieldwork progress and solicits Council input on the 

research activities for the following year. 

In the first 2 years of the initiative, scientists surveyed 

areas in the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska 

to characterize coral and sponge communities as 

well as associated fish populations. Several surveys 

were conducted in cooperation with fishing industry 

participants on fishing vessels.

Aleutian Islands

Effective management of deep-sea coral and sponge 

ecosystems in Alaska requires knowledge of where 

these organisms occur and where they are absent. 

Given the vastness of Alaska’s marine waters, not 

every part of it can be visually surveyed under the 

Program’s budget and time constraints. Therefore, a 

systematic approach to predict the presence or absence 

of corals and sponges is needed. A team of scientists 

with support from the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program developed a predictive model 

for coral and sponge distribution using data from 

NMFS bottom-trawl surveys in the Aleutian Islands. 

The model outputs include coral and sponge presence, 

abundance, and diversity. 

In August 2012, the science team conducted a 

research cruise in the eastern and central Aleutian 

Islands, aboard the fishing vessel Sea Storm, to assess 

the accuracy of the model. The fieldwork used a 

drop camera system to document coral presence/

absence and abundance at 106 randomly selected 

sites ranging from 164 to more than 2,645 feet deep. 

Images captured by the camera indicated presence of 

corals at about 50 sites, and sponges at over 70 sites. 

Detailed analysis is ongoing to produce accurate 

numbers of coral abundance and diversity with 

species identification. These results will be used to 

improve the model’s predictions.

With support from our Program, scientists conducted 

the first camera surveys along Bowers Ridge and 

Bowers Bank, an area that was closed to mobile 

bottom fishing gear in 2007. Preliminary findings 

indicated much of Bowers Ridge was composed of 

sand substrates in deep waters (1,640 to 2,645 feet). 

At the summit of Bowers Bank, the seamount-like 

feature at the north end, sponges and corals were 

attached to hard substrates. Fish observed in coral 

and sponge habitats included Pacific ocean perch, 

shortspine thornyhead, shortraker rockfish, and king 

crab. 

The Aleutian Islands fieldwork was scheduled to 

continue in 2013 and 2014 at 300 additional sites 

to further groundtruth and strengthen the model. 

Unfortunately, the cruise planned for October 

2013 did not occur due to the federal government 

shutdown.

Alaska Research Explores One of the World’s Richest 

Deep-Sea Coral Areas 
12 12

Gorgonian corals and demosponges observed by a stereo drop-camera system at a site near the Islands of 

Four Mountains at a depth of 328 feet in 2012.

Locations of field research conducted in 2012-2013.
13

Gulf of Alaska

In Alaska waters, many commercially important 

species are associated with coral and sponge habitats. 

For example, based on NMFS stock assessment 

surveys, the amount of juvenile Pacific ocean perch 

caught in the Aleutian Islands is higher in areas 

where corals and sponges are also caught. These 

complex habitats provide both protection from 

predators and increased prey availability. However, 

the relative importance of coral and sponge habitats 

as compared to other non-living complex structures 

(e.g., boulders) for commercially important species 

remains unknown.

To fill this knowledge gap, our Program supported a 

project to examine the productivity of commercially 

important rockfish species at a coral site, a boulder 

site, and a low-relief site off Kodiak in the central 

Gulf of Alaska. At each location, drop-camera video 

transects document the density and diversity of 

corals and sponges as well as the abundance and 

composition of the fish species. The project team 

also collected oceanographic data and rockfish 

samples from these sites in 2012 for food web, diet, 

reproductive maturity, and age-and-growth analyses. 

Additional sampling and laboratory analyses will 

continue in 2014.

The Program is also supporting a project that 

investigates the interactions between fishing gear 

and deep-sea corals. Disturbance from longline 

fishing to sensitive coral and sponge habitats has 

been documented in Alaska, but the extent and 

mechanism of the disturbance have not been well 

studied compared to bottom trawling. Therefore, the 

project team is examining the behavior of longline 

gear in situ in coral and sponge habitats in the Gulf 

of Alaska. The team constructed a camera system 

to be attached to longline and pot gear to collect 

images of the gear’s interactions with the seafloor 

habitats. The camera was deployed on the fishing 

vessel Ocean Prowler in July 2013 off Yakutat, Alaska. 

The recorded images will be analyzed to determine 

the distance the longline traveled along the seafloor 

during deployment, fishing, and retrieval. Work in 

2014 will focus on deploying longlines fitted with a 

camera in the coral and sponge habitats to examine 

the interaction of the gear with those organisms. 

These data can then inform fishing impacts modeling 

and analysis in the EFH review process beginning in 

2014.

In addition, the Program has supported a suite of 

research activities to characterize the distribution 

and ecology of red tree corals, which form large 

complex thickets, in the Gulf of Alaska. This work 

began with multibeam and backscatter mapping 

in 2012 at four sites where red tree coral thickets 

occur, or are suspected to occur, based on fisheries 

and survey data. In total, 167 square nautical miles 

were mapped, at depths ranging from 328 to 4,222 

feet. Based on these mapping results, a 2-week cruise 

aboard the fishing vessel Alaska Provider collected 

high-definition videos and samples using a remotelyoperated vehicle (ROV). Sixty-seven coral samples 

were collected for studies of population connectivity, 

trophic ecology, and reproduction. Six whole 

colonies were collected for studies of age, growth, and 

recruitment. Sponges were collected for taxonomy 

and biomedical products studies. Meanwhile, a 

companion cruise, using the Alaska Department of 

Fish and Game’s vessel, Medeia, conducted dropcamera surveys and deployed settlement plate arrays 

in red tree coral thickets. When the settlement 

plates are retrieved in future years, they will yield 

information on coral recruitment rates and larval 

dynamics—key information to understanding how 

or if habitats might recover after disturbance. 

The Program is also supporting long-term monitoring 

of oceanographic conditions at a shallow red tree 

coral site in Tracy Arm—a glacial fjord that supports 

a population of red tree corals that has provided a 

wealth of information on reproductive ecology and 

the development of genetic markers for populationlevel studies. This monitoring effort deploys remote 

sensors that measure ocean temperature, salinity, pH, 

and dissolved oxygen in a red tree coral thicket. The 

goal is to establish a baseline to gauge the potential 

effects of climate change and ocean acidification on 

marine processes affecting the corals in the future.
14 14

Red tree corals observed 

with an ROV deployed 

from the fishing vessel 

Alaska Provider near Cape 

Ommaney in the Gulf of 

Alaska at a 548-foot depth. 

The red laser dots are 4 

inches apart. The green laser 

dots are separated by 3.7 

feet.

Many species of fishes, including rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) and prowfish (Zaprora silenus), are associated with red 

tree corals in the eastern Gulf of Alaska. This thicket, which included these approximately 5-foot tall specimens, is 

located at a depth of 722 feet near Cape Ommaney, Baranof Island, and was observed using a stereo drop camera 

aboard the research vessel Medeia.
15

Bering Sea Canyons

In 2013, the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council requested the Program’s support for 

fieldwork in the Bering Sea canyons to groundtruth 

a coral and sponge distribution model developed by 

NMFS’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The model 

builds on approaches used by the Program in the 

Aleutian Islands. The model and surveys will inform 

a Council-requested study on whether the canyons 

have unique ecological characteristics that merit 

further protection. The Program is coordinating 

with the Science Center and NMFS’ Alaska Regional 

Office on this request and expects to fund part of the 

fieldwork.

Additional studies

Other studies in the Alaska fieldwork initiative 

include collecting long-term data sets of oxygen 

and pH from summer stock assessment trawl 

surveys; improving the taxonomy of corals and 

sponges through special collections of bycatch 

specimens; collecting data and specimens for 

paleoclimatological, microbial, and marine natural 

product studies; and compiling a geologically-based 

substrate map for the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian 

Islands that can help predict where deep-sea coral 

and sponge habitats may occur.

Besides the fieldwork, the Program supported a pilot 

project to train fishery observers to better identify 

and document corals and sponges to improve 

the documentation of bycatch in commercial 

fisheries. Nearly 200 observers in the North 

Pacific Groundfish Observer Program received 

a taxonomic identification guide for corals and 

sponges and training to identify these species. These 

observers documented corals on about 100 hauls 

on fishing vessels in 2013 and collected about 50 

coral samples, which were then expertly identified 

in the laboratory. A report summarizing the results 

and lessons learned from this pilot project is being 

prepared. In 2014, coral bycatch will be recorded in 

the observer database at a finer level of detail than 

previously recorded.

In addition, the Program supported DNA sequencing 

of corals to study the connectivity of coral populations 

and to improve the species identification of corals 

caught as bycatch. A portion of coral samples 

caught during stock assessment surveys has been 

sent to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center for 

genetic analysis. To date, preliminary sequencing 

has been completed on all survey samples. Voucher 

sequences—DNA sequences of particular specimens 

used as a reference in species identification—have 

been established from a portion of samples that 

have also been identified by taxonomists, and their 

sequences have been uploaded to the National 

Center for Biotechnology Information’s GenBank 

database. These vouchers have been used to confirm 

shipboard identifications made on trawl surveys.

More detailed descriptions of projects funded in 

2012 and 2013 are available online at http://www.

habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/

projects/index.html

Deep-sea coral communities in Alaska.
16 16

West Coast Highlights

• Deep-sea coral and sponge habitats have emerged as one of the major issues in the

 Pacific Fishery Management Council’s groundfish EFH review, and the Program provided

 new information to support the review.

• Program-supported research has expanded our understanding of the abundance

 of deep-sea corals and sponges and those environmental factors that influence their

 distribution in the West Coast region. 
17

In the 2012–2013 reporting period, the Deep Sea

Coral Research and Technology Program concluded 

a 3-year fieldwork initiative off the West Coast to 

examine coral and sponge communities. A key 

purpose of this research, which began in 2010, was 

to provide new scientific information for use in the 

5-year periodic review of EFH for groundfish species. 

A number of groundfish species have been observed 

in coral and sponge habitats in various locations 

along the entire coast, but the extent and nature of the 

habitat associations had not been fully studied. The 

fieldwork funded by the Program has begun to fill this 

information gap.

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s

Groundfish EFH Review

The MSA requires that fishery management plans 

describe and identify EFH for managed species and 

minimize—to the extent practicable—the adverse 

effects of fishing on EFH. The regulatory guidelines for 

implementing the EFH provisions recommend that 

Councils and NMFS review the EFH designations and 

management measures at least once every five years. 

The Pacific Fishery Management Council began its 

5-year review of Pacific groundfish EFH in 2010 with 

a phased approach. In Phase 1, the Council issued 

a data call and compiled new and newly available 

information relevant to habitats for groundfish. In 

Phase 2, the Council requested proposals from the 

public in 2013 for potential changes to groundfish 

EFH. The Council recently initiated Phase 3, where 

West Coast Research Supports Fishery Management 

alternatives will be developed to consider revising 

EFH designations and/or management measures.

Scientific information generated by the Deep Sea 

Coral Research and Technology Program was a key 

part of the EFH review. For example, 14 of the 39 

data products the Council received in Phase 1 were 

developed from fieldwork and analyses funded by the 

Program. Among these products are: 

• Six site characterization reports describing the

 coral and sponge species, their abundance and

 density, and their associated species at Piggy Bank

 off Southern California, Cordell Bank off

 Northern California, a sponge field near Grays

 Canyon off Southern Washington, and coral areas

 in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

 off Northern Washington. 

• About 174,000 coral and sponge records from the

 Program’s national deep-sea coral geodatabase,

 derived from direct in situ observations and from

 analysis of catch records in stock assessment

 surveys. 

• Maps showing the extent and intensity of

 commercial fishing effort using bottom trawl,

 midwater (pelagic) trawl, and fixed gear, as well

 as bycatch of corals and sponges in commercial

 fishing operations. Together, these products

 illustrate areas of potential interactions between

 fishing gear and vulnerable coral and sponge

 habitats.

Sponges, anemones, and soft corals on Rittenburg Bank at a depth of 315 feet, observed on the 2012 deep-sea coral cruise in 

the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The red sea fan in the center is a new genus and species 

Chromoplexaura markii.
18 18

In Phase 2, five of the seven EFH proposals submitted 

to the Council, including all three proposals from 

National Marine Sanctuaries, used the Program’s 

data products as a foundation and proposed 

additional protections for deep-sea coral or sponge 

habitats.

Separate from the EFH authority, the Council also 

has discretionary authority to designate deep-sea 

coral zones pursuant to MSA Section 303(b)(2)

(B) although the Council has not yet decided on 

the use of this discretionary authority. Regardless 

of the management authority the Council chooses 

to exercise, the Program will continue to support 

the Council with needed data and analyses in the 

process.

Research cruises

In this reporting period, the Deep Sea Coral Research 

and Technology Program supported three research 

cruises. Data collected from the fieldwork are being 

analyzed, and a final report will be prepared in 2014. 

In the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

Sanctuary, multibeam maps from 2011 were used to 

target ROV surveys of Rittenburg Bank, Cochrane 

Bank, and the Farallon Escarpment in 2012. The 

science team on this ROV cruise conducted 28 

transects revealing rich and abundant coral and 

sponge habitats never seen before in the sanctuary, 

including a large colony of black coral (Antipathes 

dendrochristos or Christmas tree coral) on Cochrane 

Bank. In addition, the research documented 

extensive sponge habitats, discovered a new species 

of sea pen, and determined the substrate types of 

previously multibeamed areas. These observations 

formed the basis of the Gulf of the Farallones 

Sanctuary’s EFH proposal submitted to the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council. 

We continued collaborative seamount research with 

the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 

begun in 2011 with a survey of Canada’s Bowie 

Seamount. In 2012, NOAA and Canadian scientists 

completed six ROV dives and four autonomous 

underwater vehicle (AUV) dives on Cobb Seamount 

just outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 

These surveys documented presence of black and 

gorgonian corals, and fish species that co-occur with 

the corals. This research will inform management of 

future bottom fisheries on Cobb Seamount under the 

new North Pacific Fisheries Commission agreement 

now being finalized.

In 2013, NOAA scientists used an ROV to survey 

likely coral and sponge habitats on escarpments 

south of San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz 

Islands in the Channel Islands National Marine 

Sanctuary. The selection of the survey sites was 

informed by high-resolution deep-water mapping 

data collected by the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer 

in 2011. The 2013 ROV cruise observed large 

sponges, small corals, abundant rockfishes, and 

other marine species at depths between 490 and 970 

feet. Most of the deep habitats in the sanctuary had 

not been previously explored. The 2013 fieldwork in 

this area has improved scientific understanding of 

these ecosystems. 

A black coral (Antipathes dendrochristos) 

with a rosy rockfish (Sebastes rosaceus) in 

it was observed on Cochrane Bank, at a 

depth of 312 feet, on a cruise to the Gulf 

of the Farallones Sanctuary in 2012. This 

coral is 7 feet across and estimated to be 

at least 100 years old. The coral had many 

crabs and juvenile fish living in it. The 

stems/skeletons of black corals are black, 

but the living tissue is usually orange or 

white.
19

Locations of field studies of deep-sea corals and sponges off the Pacific coast include: 1) Bowie Seamount (Canada; 2011); 2) Grays Canyon sponge grounds (2010 & 2011); 3) Cobb Seamount (2012); 

4) Bodega Canyon (2011); 5) Piggy Bank, Hidden Reef and the Footprint Marine Reserve (2010). 

Field studies also took place in four National Marine Sanctuaries: Olympic Coast (2010 & 2011), 

Cordell Bank (2010), Gulf of the Farallones (2011 & 2012), and Channel Islands (2013).

1

3 2

4

5
20 20

The 3-year initiative discovered and characterized 

significant deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems off 

the West Coast, contributing to the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s EFH review process and 

informing management of the region’s National 

Marine Sanctuaries. However, it also encountered 

challenges, many of which are inherent in deepsea research far offshore. Three research cruises 

scheduled in 2012 were postponed due to inclement 

weather or equipment failure, and some images 

collected on the Cobb Seamount cruise were lost 

when the AUV was damaged on the final dive. In 

addition, the Program’s final major cruise to conduct 

ROV and AUV surveys of deep-sea corals and 

sponges off northern California and Oregon was 

canceled due to the federal government shutdown 

in October 2013. 

Additional studies

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program has supported DNA sequencing of samples 

of deep-sea corals caught during NOAA’s West Coast 

Groundfish Bottom Trawl Surveys and collected 

by the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program. 

These sequences are used to confirm or correct 

identifications made shipboard, and establish a 

set of voucher sequences for specific coral species 

that can improve the speed and accuracy of future 

identification. To date, sequences from 44 vouchers 

have been uploaded to the National Center for 

Biotechnology Information’s GenBank database. 

These and an additional catalog of sequences with 

confirmed morphological identification have 

been used as a reference library for DNA barcode 

identification of deep-sea coral samples caught in 

the trawl surveys. using this library, initial genetic 

identification has been completed for a large 

number of samples collected from the 2006–2010

trawl surveys. These results will be provided to the 

databases for both the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program and the West Coast Groundfish 

Surveys, and used to improve the identification 

guides for the survey and observer programs.

In addition, the Program supported a study on 

how the distribution and abundance of Christmas 

tree coral are related to environmental factors 

using predictive models and broad-scale seafloor 

maps. Christmas tree corals are long-lived black 

corals that reach large sizes and represent one of 

the most important coral habitats off Southern 

California. The study revealed that high surface 

primary productivity in combination with depth 

and January currents are important predictors of 

Christmas tree coral density. Higher coral density 

coincided with greater chlorophyll persistence and 

optimal depths near 1,312 feet. Surface productivity 

increasingly was associated with Christmas tree 

corals at shallower depths. The results supported 

the hypothesis that ocean currents affect coral 

density via larval dispersal mechanisms. The 

selected coral size models responded to similar 

covariates, corroborating coral density results. 

Fish and invertebrate ordinations indicated that 

Christmas tree corals were widely distributed across 

environmental gradients and that Christmas tree 

corals co-occurred with several demersal fish and 

invertebrates. Several predicted coral hotspots are 

in areas that have not been surveyed and should be 

targeted by future studies to confirm the presence 

of Christmas tree coral communities and to evaluate 

their vulnerability.

More detailed descriptions of projects funded in 

2012 and 2013 are available online at http://www.

habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/

projects/index.html

A rockfish orienting to a large barrel sponge at 

a depth of 1,804 feet near Santa Cruz Island in 

the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. 

Rockfish such as these are important members 

of the West Coast groundfish assemblage whose 

stocks have proven difficult to assess with trawl 

surveys.
21

Having trouble viewing this video? 

Go to: http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/media/videos/west_coast_coral_cruise.mp4

Video: 2012 West Coast Coral Research Cruise

Click on the photo below to view a two minute video from the first days of the research cruise aboard 

the NOAA research vessel Fulmar to Rittenburg Bank, Cochrane Bank, and Farallon Escarpment in the 

Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in 2012. 
22 22

East Coast Highlights

• The Regional Fishery Management Councils on the East Coast view deep-sea coral habitats as an

 important component of the marine ecosystem needed to sustain fishery resources.

• Through strong partnerships, the Program combined forces with other NOAA offices, other

 government agencies, and university collaborators to map and characterize coral habitats for

 the Councils and other resource managers.

• The Program’s documentation of important newly-discovered deep-sea coral reefs off

 Florida led the South Atlantic Council to expand protection to include these habitats.
23

In July 2013, the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and 

South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 

on the East Coast signed a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) to coordinate efforts on the 

protection of deep-sea corals from Maine to the 

Florida Keys. The MOU will serve as a framework 

for cooperation across the three Councils during the 

development and implementation of management 

measures to protect deep-sea corals. The agreement 

acknowledges that many deep-sea coral species 

provide complex, three-dimensional habitats for 

fish and invertebrates, enhancing local biodiversity, 

but because the corals tend to be fragile and slowgrowing, they are vulnerable to disturbance caused 

by fishing gear. 

In this context, the MOU recognizes the need to 

protect coral habitats with each Council using 

a combination of appropriate authorities under 

the MSA, including the discretionary authority 

to designate coral protection zones described 

in Section 303(b)(2)(B), the EFH authority, the 

bycatch reduction mandate, and the South Atlantic 

Council’s fishery management plan for corals. In 

announcing the MOU, the Councils highlighted 

that many recent deep-sea coral discoveries have 

been the result of the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program. 

The MOU also recognizes the coral observations 

made by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration 

and Research (OER) in this region. These OER 

accomplishments are described in more detail at 

oceanexplorer.noaa.gov and are outside the scope 

of this report. 

In 2009-2011, within the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council region, the Deep Sea Coral 

Research and Technology Program sponsored 

underwater research to characterize the distribution, 

abundance, and ecological functions of deep-sea 

coral habitats. In 2013, the Program initiated a 

3-year fieldwork initiative in the Northeast region 

to provide new data to the New England and MidAtlantic Fishery Management Councils to support 

their management actions. Both Councils are 

considering using their discretionary authority to 

designate zones to protect deep-sea corals from 

the impacts of fishing gear. Areas where fishing 

gear could impact deep-sea corals in this and other 

regions are listed in Appendix 2.

East Coast Research Leads to Habitat Conservation 

Northeast Research Cruises

In the past two decades, research on the diversity, 

abundance, and distribution of deep-sea corals in 

the Northeast region has been limited. Therefore, 

management decisions related to deep-sea coral 

habitats were based on historical records, some 

dating back to the 1800s, and information from 

expeditions conducted in the 1980s, whose data 

quality was inconsistent.

Understanding the need for spatially explicit, 

updated information on coral habitats, the Deep Sea 

Coral Research and Technology Program began a 

3-year fieldwork initiative to locate and characterize 

the coral and sponge communities in the Northeast 

region. Through data mining, developing habitat 

suitability models, acoustic mapping, and visual 

surveys, the Northeast regional science team has 

generated extensive new findings of coral and 

sponge habitats in the first year of the initiative, 

and provided much needed contemporary data to 

resource managers in the region.

A striking purple coral, Clavularia sp., seen in Nygren 

Canyon during Leg 2 of the U.S. Northeast Canyons 2013 

Expedition aboard NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.
24 24

Locations of field research conducted in 2012–2013
25

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program’s 3-year field work initiative builds on a 

larger NOAA-wide partnership, the Atlantic Canyons 

Undersea Mapping Expeditions (ACUMEN; http://

oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/

acumen12/), which commenced in 2012. Led by 

OER in partnership withour Program, the Office 

of Coast Survey, the Office of Marine and Aviation 

Operations, and Sea Grant, a group of NOAA 

and external partners conducted a series of five 

coordinated expeditions to map and characterize 

priority canyons along the continental shelf and 

slope between Virginia and New England. This 

baseline information was crucial to the Deep Sea 

Coral Research and Technology Program’s planning 

for visual survey cruises in 2013 and future years. 

OER-led mapping of the canyons off the Northeast 

coast has continued since ACUMEN, and by the 

end of August 2013, mapping of all canyons from 

the Virginia border to the Canadian border—more 

than 56,000 square miles—was completed. The 

mapping effort provides essential baseline data that 

continues to inform follow-on expeditions. 

In 2012 and 2013, the Deep Sea Coral Research 

and Technology Program partially supported four 

research cruises in collaboration with other NOAA 

offices and academic partners:

Bubblegum corals observed in Heezen Canyon during Leg 2 of the U.S. Northeast Canyons 2013 Expedition aboard 

NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.

In 2012 and 2013, two NOAA cruises were

conducted in partnership with Woods Hole

Oceanographic Institution. Visual surveys using

a towed camera system examined submarine

canyons and areas on the continental slope

between canyons. Survey sites were selected 

based on Council priorities and to validate 

a deep-sea coral habitat suitability model 

developed by NOAA. More than 78,000 highdefinition photographs were taken during 

transects conducted in eight canyons ranging 

from Toms Canyon in the Mid-Atlantic to 

Munson Canyon in New England. Canyons

surveyed during these cruises host diverse and

abundant deep-sea coral communities, 

including gorgonian and black corals. At least 

20 species of corals, mostly gorgonians, were 

observed in the canyons, expanding the known 

distribution of deep-sea corals in this region. 

•
26 26

In addition, an interagency collaboration by OER, 

the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), 

and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is providing 

environmental baselines in Norfolk, Washington 

and Baltimore Canyons in advance of potential 

offshore oil and gas leases. These accomplishments 

are described in more detail at oceanexplorer.noaa.

gov and are outside the scope of this report.

The Northeast regional science team, supported 

by the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program, is analyzing the results from the 2012 

and 2013 fieldwork and coordinates closely with 

Regional Fishery Management Council staff and 

advisory bodies to ensure that the findings are 

submitted to the Councils in a timely manner. 

Specifically, the Mid-Atlantic Council is developing 

an amendment to the Mackerel, Squid and 

Butterfish Fishery Management Plan, that would 

include management options to: 1) protect coral 

habitats with an emphasis on those in the canyons, 

and 2) temporarily prohibit the expansion of 

bottom fishing into greater depths until scientific 

surveys determine that bottom-contact gear would 

not cause negative impacts on corals in the deeper 

habitat. To the north, the New England Council 

plans to develop similar management options in a 

deep-sea coral omnibus amendment. The Program’s 

funded research is expected to help ground the 

Council deliberations in quantitative, spatially 

explicit information to the extent possible.

In July 2013, a cruise in partnership with the

University of Connecticut used a towed camera

to survey areas in the northern Gulf of Maine. 

The surveys documented rich gorgonian coral 

gardens at depths between 591 and 853 feet in 

Jordan Basin and the Schoodic Ridge/Mount 

Desert Rock areas within the Gulf. Areas with 

steep and vertical rock faces had the highest

densities of gorgonian coral, primarily 

Paramuricea placomus, which grows to be more 

than 3 feet tall, along with lower densities of two

other species. The corals occur in high densities, 

approximately 15 to 39 colonies/m2. These deepsea coral communities are habitats for the 

Acadian redfish in the Gulf of Maine, and the 

findings from this cruise may help the New 

England Fishery Management Council in 

managing the newly reopened redfish fishery.

Also in 2013, a telepresence-enabled expedition

aboard the NOAA Okeanos Explorer used an

ROV to conduct visual surveys in the canyons 

and a seamount. The Program provided partial 

funding for the second leg of this expedition. 

During this expedition, 31 ROV dives, ranging 

in depth from 1,608 to 10,827 feet, were

completed at 10 named canyons (Block, Alvin,

Atlantis, Veatch, Hydrographer, Nygren, Heezen,

Oceanographer, Lydonia, and Welker), two 

minor unnamed canyons, several inter-canyon 

sites, and Mytilus Seamount. Many of the 

ROV dives represented the first contemporary 

exploration and visual examination of these 

features. Submarine canyons investigated were 

diverse and dramatic environments, with no two 

canyons appearing to be exactly alike in geology 

or biology. Analysis of these results will expand 

our understanding of the spatial distributions, 

both geographic and bathymetric, of species 

along the continental margin and slope. A 

number of coral species not previously reported 

from the region were observed, and species once 

considered rare occurred in higher abundances 

than expected. The live Internet broadcast 

allowed scientists and the public from around 

the world to join the exploration, receiving 

approximately 660,000 views throughout the 

duration of the expedition.

Dense gorgonian corals (Paramuricea placomus and 

Acanthogorgia cf. armata) at 787-foot depth in western 

Jordan Basin. The laser dots are 8 inches apart. 

Credit: Auster et al. 2013.

Looking ahead, our Program plans to fund at least 

two more cruises in 2014 using an ROV that can 

collect coral samples so the observed species can be 

more accurately identified. 

•

•
27

Click on the image below to view a 5 minute video of highlights from Leg 2 of the U.S. Northeast Canyons 2013 

Expedition aboard NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer. Please allow time for video to load. 

Video: 2013 Northeast Canyons Expedition

Trouble viewing this video? 

Go to: http://bcove.me/w7k9gi45
28 28

Additional Studies in the Northeast

Besides the successful fieldwork, the Program also 

supported enhanced training for fishery observers 

to improve the documentation of coral bycatch. 

As a result, nearly 150 observers in the groundfish 

and scallop fisheries received training in 2013 to 

distinguish stony corals, soft corals, and sea pens, and 

to properly preserve coral samples. Deep-sea coral 

identification is now part of all initial certification 

training at the Northeast Fisheries Training Center. 

The database that holds bycatch records has also 

been upgraded to accommodate more detailed coral 

observations. During commercial fishing trips, the 

observers take photos of all corals brought up by 

fishing gear, record them under the three categories, 

and bring back samples when possible. The photos 

and samples are later reviewed by experts to validate 

the observer records and to identify the coral with 

finer taxonomic resolution. Since the training, 

the observers documented seven instances of sea 

pen bycatch—as many observations as had been 

reported over the 18 years before the training. Also, 

two instances of soft coral bycatch were recorded 

in the observer database. This would not have been 

possible before 2013 because the observer database 

had not been designed to distinguish coral types. 

This project improved the quantity and quality of 

data on coral bycatch, which will be highly valuable 

in guiding future research and conservation actions.

More detailed descriptions of projects funded in 

2012 and 2013 are available online at http://www.

habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/

projects/index.html

Octopus and corals in Welker Canyon observed in 2013.

A Paramuricea coral as habitat for anemones and brittle stars. 
29

Large colony of a bamboo coral (Jasonisis sp.) observed on Mytilus Seamount at a depth greater than 6,562 feet. 

Several colonies of this species were observed during Leg 2 of the U.S. Northeast Canyons 2013 Expedition 

aboard NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.

Predicted suitable habitat for gorgonian deep-sea corals in Gilbert Canyon was validated by towed camera 

surveys in 2012 which discovered large fields of gorgonians.
30 30

In this reporting period, the Deep Sea Coral 

Research and Technology Program supported two 

predictive modeling studies focused on the Gulf 

of Mexico. Both studies predict likely deep-sea 

coral habitats. (See Box 1 for more background on 

predictive habitat modeling.) One study focused 

on black corals in the northwestern Gulf, and the 

other involved more taxonomic groups and covered 

all of the northern Gulf. The results from these 

studies will help scientists select future focus areas 

for research and help resource managers identify 

conservation priorities. More detailed descriptions 

of these projects are available online at: http://www.

habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/

projects/index.html

Managers in the Gulf of Mexico are increasingly 

interested in identifying vulnerable deep-sea coral 

habitats. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council held a workshop in 2013 that reviewed the 

latest research on Gulf of Mexico deep-sea corals. 

Participant recommendations included establishing 

new deep-sea coral HAPCs. The Council is 

obtaining further expert review and advice from its 

NOAA Develops Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral 

Habitat Suitability Models

Special Coral Scientific and Statistical Committee 

regarding these recommendations. 

The Flower Garden Banks National Marine 

Sanctuary’s 2012 Management Plan has proposed 

expanding sanctuary boundaries to include 

additional reefs and banks in the northwestern Gulf 

of Mexico, likely encompassing additional deep-sea 

coral habitats. 

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill damaged 

deep-sea corals up to 6 nautical miles from the 

wellhead,1 further highlighting the vulnerability 

of these resources. In 2012, OER and BOEM 

completed fieldwork for the 4-year “Lophelia II 

Project: Exploration and Research of Northern 

Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Natural and Artificial 

Hard-Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Coral 

Communities: Reef, Rigs and Wrecks,” which 

provided a wealth of information on deepsea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. These 

accomplishments are described in more detail at 

oceanexplorer.noaa.gov and are outside the scope 

of this report. 

1 White HK, et al. (2012). Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico.

 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (50): 20303-20308

When finalized, the amendment will expand the 

Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern 

(HAPC), the Stetson-Miami Terrace Coral HAPC, 

and the Cape Lookout Coral HAPC. As a result 

of the amendment, the seafloor protected from 

bottom-contact gear in the HAPCs will increase by 

843 square miles. The amendment will also allow 

the existing deepwater shrimp fishery to remain 

viable by providing vessels the opportunity to transit 

through the Oculina Bank HAPC and designating 

a Shrimp Fishery Access Area to be used as a gear 

haul back/drift zone in the Stetson-Miami Terrace 

Coral HAPC. In addition to using the new in situ

observations of coral habitats when choosing 

preferred alternatives, the Council also considered 

vessel monitoring system data and rock shrimp trawl 

track information, thus maximizing the area where 

fishery operations may continue and coral habitats 

are protected. These vessel monitoring system data 

sets were enhanced with partial support from the 

Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. 

South Atlantic Council Region

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program funded a deep-sea coral fieldwork initiative 

in the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

region in 2009–2011. In the 2012–2013 reporting

period, the Program’s investment in this region 

resulted in analysis of the fieldwork findings and 

compiling the results into a published report and 

scientific papers. The 3-year initiative has expanded 

our understanding of the distribution of the region’s 

deep-sea corals, their growth and reproduction, 

and the extent that populations in the region are 

genetically distinct from populations elsewhere in 

the Atlantic. 

Prompted by new discoveries of deep-sea coral 

habitats resulting from our fieldwork, the South 

Atlantic Council approved Amendment 8 to its 

Coral, Coral Reef, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats 

Fishery Management Plan. The Council submitted 

the amendment to the Secretary of Commerce for 

final review in late 2013. 
31

Habitat suitability model for the West Flower 

Garden Bank for the black coral genus 

Tanacetipathes in Flower Garden Banks National 

Marine Sanctuary. Suitability ranges from one 

(highly suitable habitat) to zero (unsuitable 

habitat). This map was created at a 16-foot spatial 

resolution and highlights the deep reef habitats 

surrounding the bank as highly suitable habitat 

for this genus.
32 32

Predictive Modeling to Inform Management

The scarcity of observations of deep-sea habitats poses a major challenge for fisheries and sanctuaries managers 

and regional ocean planners. Most deep-sea scientific surveys or sampling cover only a couple acres at most, 

while managers must often plan for activities covering hundreds or thousands of square miles. Predictive habitat 

modeling for deep-sea corals and other vulnerable marine ecosystems provides a promising approach to bridge 

this mismatch in scale. Such modeling is a cost-effective method for extrapolating findings from field observations to identify deep-sea coral habitat in locations that have not been sampled. The Deep Sea Coral Research 

and Technology Program has supported predictive habitat models for deep-sea corals at both the regional level 

(e.g., the entire East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, and Aleutian Islands) and more detailed modeling at 

smaller scales (e.g., Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico and Channel Islands off California). Additional 

field surveys will further validate and refine these models, which have already accurately identified previously 

undiscovered deep-sea coral habitats. 

Predictive habitat modeling will increasingly help target future research, as well as provide insights into the 

environmental conditions controlling deep-sea coral distribution, which will help us understand how these 

ecosystems may be influenced by future changes in climate and ocean acidification.

An example of deep-sea coral 

habitat suitability prediction 

maps developed by NOAA 

for framework-forming 

Scleractinians (stony corals) 

in the Southeast and Gulf 

of Mexico. Warm colors 

(e.g., red) denote areas more 

suitable for coral habitat 

and cooler colors (e.g., blue) 

denote areas less suitable for 

coral habitat. Values depict 

a relative index of habitat 

suitability that ranges from 

zero to 1. The values do not 

represent probabilities of 

coral occurrence.

Box 1
33

The deeper waters of the U.S. Caribbean remain 

largely unexplored. The Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council collaborated with U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS), the Ocean Exploration 

Trust, and University of Puerto Rico in 2013 to 

explore depths between 377 and 9,843 feet at 7 

sites in the northeastern U.S. Caribbean. This 

telepresence-enabled ROV cruise aboard the 

research vessel Nautilus. observed deep-sea corals, 

sponges, other invertebrates and fishes in the Puerto 

Rico Trench, Mona Passage, and other locations. 

The U.S. Pacific Islands Region consists of more than 

50 oceanic islands and atolls, including the Hawaiian 

Archipelago, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam and 

American Samoa, as well as the unincorporated 

U.S. Line Islands (Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, and 

Palmyra Atoll), U.S. Phoenix Islands (Howland 

and Baker Islands), and Johnston and Wake Atolls. 

Because these islands and their surrounding habitats 

are isolated, this region is home to many endemic 

species. 

Deeper waters of the U.S. Pacific Islands Region 

are largely unexplored, and nearly all the scientific 

observations of deep-sea corals in the region have been 

limited to the Hawaiian Archipelago. Historically, 

gold, black, and pink corals were harvested off 

Hawaii for the jewelry trade. In federal waters, this 

fishery is managed under the Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s Precious Coral Fishery 

Management Plan and is currently dormant. Some 

of the corals targeted in the fishery are extremely 

slow-growing. Gold corals in Hawaii, for example, 

can reach an age of 2,700 years. Due their slow 

growth, the Council placed a moratorium on gold 

coral harvests. 

The U.S. Pacific Islands may harbor some of the most 

pristine deep-sea coral habitats in the world, thanks 

to early action by the Council in the 1980s to prohibit 

U.S. Caribbean Research Explores Deep Waters

More details about this cruise are available online 

at: http://www.nautiluslive.org/mission/2013. This 

research is out of the scope of this report, as it was 

not funded by the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program.

The Council in partnership with the University of 

Puerto Rico plans to conduct an AUV cruise in 

2014 in the U.S. Caribbean to describe the EFH of 

the queen snapper Etelis oculatus at depths to 2,297 

feet, which encompasses deep-sea coral habitats.

U.S. Pacific Islands Research is Set to Begin in 2015

bottom-trawling and other damaging fishing 

operations throughout the region. Knowledge of 

the distribution of deep-sea coral habitats becomes 

increasingly important as offshore renewable energy 

development, open-ocean aquaculture, deep-sea 

mining, cable deployment, and other activities that 

can disturb the seafloor are being proposed for the 

region. 

The region has four Marine National Monuments 

with extensive deep-water resources. 

Papahānaumokuākea Monument was established in 

2006, and Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, 

and Rose Atoll Monuments in 2009. The new 

monuments have a mandate to protect the unique 

natural and cultural resources, but their deep-sea 

communities have not been explored. 

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program is planning a concerted fieldwork effort 

to locate and characterize the deep-sea coral 

ecosystems in the Pacific Islands region in 2015–

2017. A workshop in 2014 will identify research 

priorities, soliciting input from the Council, other 

federal agencies, and stakeholders. The main 

goal for the Pacific Islands 3-year fieldwork will 

be to provide information to the Council and 

Monuments to enhance the conservation of deepsea coral habitats.
34 34

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program brings together the regional research 

discussed above and in previous reports to 

Congress into a cohesive whole by building and 

maintaining a national database of deep-sea 

coral locations, and preparing an updated report 

on the state of the nation’s deep-sea coral and 

sponge ecosystems. 

Report on the State of Deep-Sea Coral and 

Sponge Ecosystems

In 2007, NOAA published the first peer-reviewed 

report on the State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the 

United States. In the ensuing 6 years, new information 

on deep-sea corals and sponges has expanded 

rapidly. In 2014, NOAA will publish a peer-reviewed 

Update on Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems 

of the United States. Leading scientists working in 

each U.S. region will summarize progress on our 

understanding and management of these resources 

since the 2007 report. These regional chapters will 

be complemented by thematic spotlight articles on 

emerging scientific topics, including the genetic 

connectivity of deep-sea coral populations, age 

and growth of deep-sea corals, trends in species 

discovery, understanding fishing interactions 

with deepwater coral and sponge habitats, and 

how new modeling approaches are informing our 

understanding of coral distributions. The report 

will also include lists of deep-sea coral and sponge 

species found in U.S. waters.

National Database of Deep-Sea Coral 

Locations

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology 

Program is tasked with identifying and mapping 

the locations of deep-sea corals. To meet this 

mandate, the Program has built a national 

geographic database that houses spatial records 

of deep-sea corals and deep-sea sponges derived 

from the research funded by the Program, results 

of other NOAA programs that study the deep sea, 

and data voluntarily contributed by other federal 

agencies, research institutions and international 

organizations. 

Nationwide Efforts

The database has grown from records of 85,000 

deep-sea corals in 2011, to more than 200,000 deepsea corals and 67,000 deep-sea sponges in 2013. 

In addition to the locations of deep-sea corals, the 

database will incorporate associated information 

on the size and abundance of corals and sponges 

discovered by our research cruises, as well as the 

species of other associated organisms—important 

factors in determining the ecological importance 

of these habitats. In partnership with the USGS, 

in 2014 coral records from the database will be 

made publicly accessible through the USGS Ocean 

Biogeographic Information System USA (http://

www.usgs.gov/obis-usa/). A companion NOAA 

portal will provide access to these records as well as 

other data products from our Program’s research.

The national database is a central resource for 

the Regional Fishery Management Councils. As 

outlined in the regional sections above, deep-sea 

coral records from the national database have been 

provided to the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and 

Pacific Fishery Management Councils for their 

use in designing habitat conservation measures. 

Regional coral records have also been used by 

the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean 

and are served on their data portal (http://portal.

midatlanticocean.org/portal/).

The following maps summarize known locations 

of deep-sea corals in selected U.S. regions from the 

national database. 
35

akStructure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals 

of Alaska

The maps that follow are for illustrative purposes and are not meant to be used for management purposes. Due to the 

resolution of these maps, a single point may include more than one deep-sea coral record.

The data do not represent density of coral cover but rather known locations of corals that have been compiled by the 

Program to date and reported by taxonomic orders. Compilation of existing data is ongoing, and information on some 

orders may be incomplete. Reported coral locations are limited to where fishing or research has occurred. Areas where no 

corals are shown may reflect either an absence of corals or an absence of sampling. The data sources include NMFS bottom 

trawl survey and fisheries observer program databases, Regional Fishery Management Council databases, research cruise 

results, museum collections, and literature citations.

Gorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Lace Coral

Anthoathecata
36 36

wc

Gorgonian

Gorgonacea

Lace Coral

Anthoathecata

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Branching 

Stony Coral

Scleractinia

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals of 

the West Coast
37

neGorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Branching 

Stony Coral

Scleractinia

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals of the 

Northeast
38 38

Gorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Branching 

Stony Coral

Scleractinia

se Lace Coral

Anthoathecata

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals 

of the Southeast
39

gomGorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Branching 

Stony Coral

Scleractinia

Lace Coral

Anthoathecata

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals 

of the 

Gulf of Mexico
c

40 40

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals 

of the Caribbean

Gorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Branching 

Stony Coral 

Scleractinia

Lace Coral

Anthoathecata
41

piGorgonian

Gorgonacea

Black Coral

Antipatharia

Gold Coral

Zoanthidea

Branching 

Stony Coral

Scleractinia

Lace Coral

Anthoathecata

Structure-forming 

Deep-Sea Corals 

of the 

Pacific Islands
42 42

Looking Forward

Building on the progress in 2012 and 2013, the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program plans to take 

the following steps to advance deep-sea coral science and management:

Alaska

• Complete the 3-year fieldwork initiative, including the Aleutian Islands surveys that did not take

 place as planned in 2013. 

• Submit findings to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to inform the 5-year review of

 groundfish EFH and other management processes.

Pacific Islands

• Support a coordinated fieldwork initiative in 2015–2017, in consultation with the Western Pacific

 Fishery Management Council, to study the deep habitats in the mostly unexplored region.

West Coast

• Prepare a final report on the 2010–2012 fieldwork initiative.

• Support the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s groundfish EFH review process with data and

 analysis as needed.

Northeast

• Continue the 3-year fieldwork initiative to locate and characterize deep-sea coral habitats,

 with at least two cruises in 2014.

• Supply information to the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils to inform

 their efforts to designate deep-sea coral protection zones.

Gulf of Mexico

• Support the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s development of potential management

 options for establishing deep-sea coral HAPCs.

National deep-sea coral database

• Prepare nationwide deep-sea coral records for submission to the USGS to be published online in 2014.

While the Program continues to support all the Councils with the best available science to manage essential and 

vulnerable habitats, we will also assist with other ocean management initiatives (e.g., regional ocean planning 

and national marine sanctuary processes) by delivering high-quality scientific information that will help protect, 

maintain, and restore the health and biodiversity of the oceans.
43

Appendix 1: 2012-2013 projects under the Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program

PROJECT FISHERY MANAGEMENT 

COUNCIL REGION AMOUNT

Alaska fieldwork initiative, year 1 of 3 North Pacific

North Pacific

North Pacific

North Pacific

Assessment of coral bycatch from the Alaska 

groundfish trawl fleet in collaboration with the 

North Pacific Fisheries Observer Program

Predictive habitat modeling for Alaska’s deep-sea 

coral and sponge resources

Predicting tidal currents for the Aleutian Islands 

and Gulf of Alaska

West Coast fieldwork initiative, year 3 of 3

Taxonomic and genetic identification of deep-sea 

corals and sponges in bycatch and field surveys

Video analysis of Okeanos Explorer ROV dives in 

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Pacific

Pacific; North Pacific

Pacific

Assessing deep-sea coral communities from archived Pacific

video surveys: Year 2

Habitat suitability modeling and field validation for 

deep-sea corals in the Northeast New England; Mid-Atlantic

Deep-sea coral and sponge identification training 

for the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program New England; Mid-Atlantic

Final analysis for 2009-2011 fieldwork initiative South Atlantic

Antipatharian distribution and suitability mapping in 

the mesophotic zone of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Mexico

Predictive modeling for the Gulf of Mexico: 

presence/absence component

Gulf of Mexico

National deep-sea coral geodatabase and data 

management National

Program coordination National

NMFS management and administration National

Advancing deep-sea coral video identification National/International

TOTAL

*Incorporating Hawaiian deep-sea coral records into 

the national geodatabase Pacific Islands $15,000*

$900,000

$48,427

$40,000

$30,000

$725,000

$100,000

$33,500

$33,313

$75,000

$13,000

$65,000

$39,900

$30,000

$150,000

$109,085

$61,493

$7,000

$2,459,718

2012
44

*Projects administered by the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program but sponsored by other funding 

sources.

Descriptions of these projects are available online at 

www.habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/projects/index.html.

Due to sequestration budget cuts, fewer projects were funded in 2013 than in 2012. The 3-year regional fieldwork 

initiatives remained a high priority and continued to be supported in 2013, but the number of small, shore-based 

projects was reduced.

PROJECT FISHERY MANAGEMENT 

COUNCIL REGION AMOUNT

Pacific

Pacific; North Pacific

National

TOTAL

Pacific $45,427*

$20,000

$125,000

$135,000

$190,841

$2,372,793

Alaska fieldwork initiative, year 2 of 3 North Pacific

Northeast fieldwork initiative, year 1 of 3 New England; Mid-Atlantic

Determination of the impacts of trap fishing on 

mid-Atlantic benthic habitats, with emphasis on 

structure-forming invertebrates 

Mid-Atlantic

Taxonomic and genetic identification of fisheries 

bycatch of deep-sea corals and sponges

Pacific Islands research priority workshop

Fieldwork data stewardship

Pacific; North Pacific; 

New England; Mid-Atlantic; 

South Atlantic; Atlantic

National deep-sea coral geodatabase and data 

management

Program coordination

NMFS management and administration National

*Predictive models and distribution maps of deep-sea 

corals off Northern California

$850,000

$800,000

$50,000

$65,000

2013

National $136,952
45

Appendix 2: Deep-Sea Coral Areas with Potential for Interaction with 

Fishing Gear

The Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program, through a review of its funded research and other 

scientific literature, has identified locations with evidence of major aggregations of structure-forming deep-sea 

corals, and where fishing gear interactions with deep-sea corals have been documented or are possible because 

the coral habitats are in areas open to bottom fishing. Directed by the MSA to help reduce interactions between 

fishing gear and corals, the Program is committed to supporting studies that help resource managers to develop 

and evaluate management options for these locations listed below.

Data used for creating this list are available from our Program upon request and may be used by the Councils 

in analyzing whether and how to designate zones to protect deep-sea corals from physical damage by fishing 

gear under the MSA deep-sea coral discretionary authority (MSA section 303(b)(2)(B)). NOAA is developing 

guidance on the application of this authority.

Alaska Region

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has established a large Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation 

Area and a number of HAPCs in the Gulf of Alaska, where coral habitats are protected from fishing gear impacts 

to varying degrees. Coral aggregations outside of these areas could be considered for additional protection, 

including:

A. Parts of the Bering Sea slope, particularly Pribilof Canyon. NOAA is planning additional deep-sea 

coral surveys in the Bering Sea, particularly in the Bering Sea canyons.

B. Deep-sea coral areas of the Aleutian Islands and Petrel Bank and Spur (identified by high coral 

catches in NMFS trawl surveys and/or coral bycatch in commercial fisheries as reported by the Alaska 

Groundfish Observer Program) that are outside the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area (e.g., 

selected areas between Attu and Kiska Islands).

C. Gulf of Alaska Primnoa coral habitats outside currently protected areas, including, but not limited 

to Chirikof, the Fairweather Ground, Cape Ommaney/Shutter Ridge, and Dixon Entrance basin. These 

areas are closed to bottom-trawling, but corals are vulnerable to other gear types operating in the region 

(e.g., longline gear.) 
46 46

West Coast Region

Although a significant extent of the West Coast EEZ is protected from bottom trawling (e.g., via EFH protections 

or the Rockfish Conservation Areas), additional areas of documented deep-sea coral presence are also open 

to bottom contact fishing activities. The spatially discrete areas listed here, based on observed coral bycatch 

and documented presence of coral aggregations, could potentially be considered by the Council for additional 

protection.

A. High coral bycatch area bordering Nitinat Canyon 

B. Deep-sea coral areas in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary 

 adjacent to the current Olympic 2 EFH Conservation Area. 

C. Deep-sea coral areas in parts of Astoria Canyon outside of the Astoria Canyon 

 EFH Conservation Area

D. High coral bycatch areas off northern Oregon

E. High coral bycatch areas off Oregon/California border

F. High coral bycatch areas in Eel River Canyon outside of the Eel River Canyon EFH Conservation Area

G. Rittenburg and Cochrane Banks and Escarpment within Gulf of the Farallones 

 National Marine Sanctuary

H. Certain areas of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, including the 

 Ascension and Año Nuevo Canyon Complex. 

“High coral bycatch areas” are areas with standardized coral bycatch (weight/km) in the top 1 percentile of 

all coral bycatch coast-wide reported from commercial trawl fisheries, based on data from the West Coast 

Groundfish Observer Program.
47

Northeast Region

Prior to this reporting period, the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils collectively 

have closed Lydonia, Oceanographer, Veatch, and Norfolk canyons to bottom trawling to protect the EFH of some 

commercially fished species. These closures may have ancillary effects of protecting deep-sea corals that occur 

in these canyons. Coral aggregations outside of these closures could be considered for additional protection, 

including:

A. New England Seamounts within the U.S. EEZ: Bear, Retriever, Physalia and Mytilus Seamounts.

B. Certain New England and Mid-Atlantic canyons, including Munson, Powell, Gilbert, Welker,

 Hydrographer, Atlantis, Alvin, Block, Hendrickson, Toms complex, Carteret, Wilmington, Washington,

 and Baltimore Canyons; and the slope near Alvin Canyon. 

C. Three areas in the Gulf of Maine: Western Jordan Basin, Schoodic Ridge, and Mount Desert Rock. 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is developing management measures for some of the canyons as 

an amendment to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. 

The New England Fishery Management Council has tasked its Habitat Plan Development Team to review the 

management needs for some of the canyon and slope areas in the region. 
48 48

South Atlantic Council Region

Prior to this reporting period, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council had closed large areas to bottom 

fishing to protect deep-sea coral habitats. They include five Deepwater Coral HAPCs and the Oculina Bank 

HAPC. Coral aggregations outside of these areas could be considered for additional protection, including:

A. Oculina varicosa mounds off Daytona Beach, Florida, extending north and west outside the current

 Oculina HAPC boundaries. (Proposed for protection in the South Atlantic Fishery Management

 Council Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery Management Plan.)

B. Lophelia pertusa coral mounds off Jacksonville, Florida, extending west of the current Stetson-Miami

 Terrace Coral HAPC. (Proposed for protection in the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

 Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery Management Plan.)

C. Lophelia pertusa coral mounds extending Northeast west of the current Cape Lookout Coral HAPC

 (Proposed for protection in the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Amendment 8 to the

 Coral Fishery Management Plan.)

D. Deep-sea coral areas outside the Pourtales Terrace Coral HAPC

E. Agassiz and Tortugas Valleys

Currently, Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery Management Plan is under Secretary of Commerce review.
49

Gulf of Mexico Region

In the Gulf of Mexico, deep-sea coral aggregations in areas open to bottom-fishing include:

A. Certain areas in the northwest Gulf of Mexico that harbor significant populations of deep-sea corals

 and have been identified as HAPC but do not carry any protection measures against the impacts of

 bottom fishing, including 29 Fathom, Sonnier, MacNeil, Rankin, and Bright Banks. 

B. Shelf-edge mesophotic banks in the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, including the Mississippi-

 Alabama Pinnacles and “Coral Trees” 

C. Shelf-edge South Texas Banks

D. Deep-sea coral sites, principally identified during the BOEM/NOAA/USGS Lophelia I & II Research

 Programs, including:

• West Florida Slope

• Florida Escarpment (DC 538)

• Viosca Knoll – VK 826; VK862/906

• Mississippi Canyon – MC 751, MC 855

• Green Canyon – GC 140, GC 234, GC 235, GC 338

• Garden Banks – GB 299, GB 535

U.S. Caribbean

In the U.S. Caribbean, deep-sea coral aggregations in areas open to bottom-fishing include:

A. Mona Passage, off the west coast of Puerto Rico, where deep-sea corals have been documented. 

 There is no bottom-trawling in the U.S. Caribbean EEZ, but other bottom-contact gear could be of 

 concern for these corals.
50 50

References for Appendix 2

Alaska – Regional summary in: Stone, R.P., and S. K. Shotwell. 2007. State of Deep Coral Ecosystems in the Alaska Region: Gulf of

Alaska, Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands. pp. 65–108. In: S.E. Lumsden, T.F. Hourigan, A.W. Bruckner, and G. Dorr (eds.). The State

of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP-3. Silver Spring, MD.

A. Bering Sea Slope and Canyons:

• Miller, R. J., Hocevar, J., Stone, R., & Federov, D. (2012). Structure-forming corals and sponges

 and their use as fish habitat in Bering Sea submarine canyons. PLoS ONE 7(3): e33885.

• Sigler, M.F., Rooper, C.N., Hoff G.R., Stone R.P., McConnaughey R.A., Wilderbuer T.K. 2013.

 Are Bering Sea canyons unique habitats within the eastern Bering Sea? Draft paper presented for

 Review by North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

B. Aleutian Island coral areas: 

•	 Stone, R. P.(In press). The ecology of deep-sea coral and sponge habitats of the central Aleutian

 Islands of Alaska. NOAA Professional Paper.

•	 Stone and Shotwell (2007)

•	 Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program – Alaska Coral and Sponge Initiative.

•	 NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center Groundfish Observer Data

•	 NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center Groundfish Trawl Survey Data

C. Gulf of Alaska Red Tree Coral Areas: 

•	 Stone, R. P., Karinen, J. F., & Masuda, M. M. (In prep.). The ecology of red tree coral thickets in the

 eastern Gulf of Alaska. 

•	 Stone and Shotwell (2007)

West Coast – Regional summary in: Whitmire, C. E., & Clarke, M. E. (2007). State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific Coast:

California to Washington. In S. E. Lumsden, T. F. Hourigan, A. W. Bruckner, & G. Dorr (Eds.), The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the 

United States (pp. 109-154). Silver Spring, MD: NOAA. 

A. High coral bycatch area bordering Nitinat Canyon:

•	 Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (GEFHRC) 2012. Pacific Coast Groundfish

 5-Year Review of Essential Fish Habitat Report to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Phase

 1: New Information. September 2012. 427 pp. 

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013). Proposal to the

 Pacific Fishery Management Council to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Designation,

 Conservation, and Enforcement. 183 pp.

B. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary: 

•	 Brancato, M. S., Bowlby, C. E., Hyland, J., Intelmann, S. S., & Brenkman, K. (2007). Observations

 of deep coral and sponge assemblages in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington.

 Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series NMSP-07-04. Silver Spring: NOAA.

•	 Bowlby, CE, J. Bright, K. Brenkman, P. Etnoyer, S. Rooney, C. Brady. 2011. A characterization of

 deep-sea coral and sponge communities on the continental shelf of Olympic Coast National

 Marine Sanctuary, Northern Washington using a remotely operated vehicle in June 2010. A

 Report to NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Researach and Technology Program. 21pp

•	 Bowlby E. and Culver M. 2013. Options for Potential Modifications to Olympic 2 Groundfish

 Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Area in Washington State. Proposal to the Pacific Fishery

 Management Council 28 pp (and references therein).

C. Parts of Astoria Canyon that have no special protections: 

•	 Bianchi C. 2011. Abundance and distribution of megafaunal invertebrates in NE Pacific

 submarine canyons and their ecological associations with demersal fishes. MS Thesis, Washington

 State University, Vancouver.

•	 GEFHRC 2012.

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013)
51

D. High coral bycatch areas off Northern Oregon:

•	 GEFHRC 2012.

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013)

E. High coral bycatch areas off Oregon/California border:

•	 GEFHRC 2012.

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013)

F. Eel River Canyon coral bycatch area:

•	 GEFHRC 2012.

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013)

G. Rittenburg and Cochrane Banks and Farallon Escarpment within Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary:

•	 NOAA (2013a). A Proposal to Consider Options for New EFH HAPC(s) and Conservation Areas

 Submitted by Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. 42 pp. (and references therein)

•	 Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy (2013)

H. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary deep-sea coral areas, including the Ascension and Año Nuevo Canyon 

Complex:

•	 NOAA (2013b). Collaborative Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Proposal: Protecting Groundfish

 Essential Fish Habitat While Balancing Fishing Opportunities in Monterey Bay National Marine

 Sanctuary, South of Año Nuevo (and references therein)

Northeast – Regional summary in: Packer, D. B., Boelke, D., Guida, V., & McGee, L.-A. (2007). State of Deep Coral Ecosystems in the

Northeastern U.S. Region: Maine to Cape Hatteras. In S. E. Lumsden, T. F. Hourigan, A. W. Bruckner, & G. Dorr (Eds.), The State of 

Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States (pp. 195-232). Silver Spring, MD: NOAA.

A. New England Seamounts: 

•	 Packer et al. (2007)

•	 Kilgour MJ, Auster PJ, Packer D, Purcell M, Packard G, Dessner M, Sherrell A, Rissolo D (in

 review). use of AUVs to Inform Management of Deep-Sea Corals. 

•	 Watling, L., Auster, P. J., Babb, I., Skinder, C., & Hecker, B. (2003). A geographic database of

 deepwater alcyonaceans of the Northeastern U.S. continental shelf and slope, Version 1.0 CD

 ROM. Groton: National Undersea Research Center, University of Connecticut.

B. New England and Mid-Atlantic Canyons: 

•	 Packer et al. (2007). 

•	 Hecker, B., & Blechschmidt, G. (1980). Final historical coral report for the canyon assessment

 study in the Mid- and North Atlantic areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf: epifauna of the

 Northeastern U.S. continental margin. Appendix A. In Canyon Assessment Study. No. BLM

 AA551-CT8-49. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.

•	 Hecker, B., Logan, D. T., Gandarillas, F. E., & Gibson, P. R. (1983). Megafaunal assemblages in

 Lydonia Canyon, Baltimore Canyon, and selected slope areas. In Canyon and slope processes

 study: Vol. III, biological processes. Final report for U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals

 Management Service (pp. 1-140). Washington, DC: Minerals Management Service.

•	 Watling et al., (2003)

•	 NOAA 2012) Deepwater Canyons 2012: Pathways to the Abyss (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov

 explorations/12midatlantic/welcome.html)

•	 NOAA (2013a) Deepwater Canyons 2013: Pathways to the Abyss (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov

 explorations/13midatlantic/welcome.html)

•	 NOAA (2013b) Okeanos Explorer Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition 2013 (http://oceanexplorer

 noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1304/welcome.html)

C. Gulf of Maine: 

•	 Auster P.J., Kilgour M., Packer D., Waller R., Auscavitch S. and Watling, L. (2013). Octocoral

 gardens in the Gulf of Maine (NW Atlantic). Biodiversity, DOI: 10.1080/14888386.2013.850446

•	 Packer et al. (2007).

•	 Auster, P. J. (2005). Are deep-water corals important habitats for fishes? In A. Freiwald, & J. M.

 Roberts (Eds.), Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems (pp. 747-760). Berlin: Springer.

•	 Watling et al., (2003)
52 52

South Atlantic – Regional summary in: Ross S.W. and Nizinski M.S. (2007) State of Deep Coral Ecosystems in the Southeast Region:

Cape Hatteras to Southeast Florida. Pages 233-269. In: Lumsden SE, Hourigan TF, Bruckner AW and Dorr G (eds.) The State of Deep 

Coral Ecosystems of the United States. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP-3, Silver Spring, Maryland

A. Oculina varicosa mounds: 

•	 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery

 Management Plan

•	 David, A. W. (2011). Southeast Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (SE-DSC)

 2009-2011, presentation to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Coral Advisory

 Panel on October 25. North Charleston, SC.

B. Lophelia pertusa coral mounds off Jacksonville, FL: 

•	 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery

 Management Plan

•	 David (2011)

C. Cape Lookout Lophelia pertusa coral mounds: 

•	 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery

 Management Plan. 

D. Pourtales Terrace—Areas outside existing Deepwater Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern:

•	 Reed, JK, Messing C, Walker BK, Brooke S, Correa TBS, Brower M, Udouj T. (2013) Habitat

 Characterization, Distribution, and Areal Extent of Deep-sea Coral Ecosystems off Florida,

 Southeastern U.S.A. Journal of Caribbean Science 47:13-30.

E. Agassiz and Tortugas Valleys:

•	 Reed et al. (2013).

Gulf of Mexico 

A. Northwest Gulf of Mexico Banks: 

•	 Rezak, R., Bright, T.J., & McGrail, D.W. (1985). Reefs and Banks of the Northwestern Gulf of

 Mexico: Their Geological, Biological, and Physical Dynamics. New York: Wiley. 259 pp.

•	 Gittings, S.R., Bright, T.J., Schroeder, W.W., Sager, W.W., Laswell, J.S., Rezak, R. (1992)

 Invertebrate assemblages and ecological controls on topographic features in the Northeast Gulf of

 Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 50(3): 435-455.

•	 Etnoyer, P. (2009). Distribution and Diversity of Octocorals in the Gulf of Mexico, PhD

 Dissertation. Corpus Christi: Texas A&M University. 187 pp.

•	 NOAA (2012) Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Final Management Plan. Silver

 Spring, MD. 130 pp.

•	 Nuttall M.F. (2013) Antipatharian diversity and habitat suitability mapping in the mesophotic

 zone of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico. MS Thesis, Texas A&M University. 119 pp.

B. Pinnacles Reef Track shelf-edge mesophotic banks in the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico:

•	 Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. and Texas A&M University, Geochemical and Environmental

 Research Group. 2001. Mississippi/Alabama Pinnacle Trend Ecosystem Monitoring, Final

 Synthesis Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Biological Resources

 Division, USGS BSR 2001-0007 and Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico Regions,

 New Orleans, LA, OCS Study MMS 2001-080. 415 pp +apps. http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication

 bsr20010007

•	 Weaver D., Dennis GD, Sulak KJ (2001) Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Coastal and Marine

 Ecosystem Program: Community structure and trophic ecology of demersal fishes on the

 Pinnacles Reef Track. Final Synthesis Report. USGS BSR-2001-0008; and MMS Gulf of Mexico

 OCS Region Study MMS 20022-034. 92 pp.

•	 Peccini M.B. & MacDonald I.R. (2008) Correspondence of sea fan orientations with measured

 currents on hard bottom habitats of the Mississippi/Alabama continental shelf. Continental Shelf

Research 28:302–308
53

C. Shelf-edge South Texas Banks:

•	 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (2013) Workshop on Interrelationships between

 Coral Reefs and Fisheries. May 20-22, 2013; Tampa, Florida. Summary Report 54 pp. 

•	 Nash, H. L., S. J. Furiness, and J. W. Tunnell, Jr. (2013) What is known about species richness and

 distribution on the outer-shelf South Texas Banks? Gulf and Caribbean Research, 25:9-18. 

D. Deep-sea coral sites: 

•	 Brooke, S., & Schroeder, W. W. (2007). State of deep coral ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico region:

 Texas to the Florida Straits. In S. E. Lumsden, T. F. Hourigan, A. W. Bruckner, & G. Dorr (Eds.),

 The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States (pp. 271-306). Silver Spring: NOAA.

•	 Brooks, J.M., C. Fisher, H. Roberts, E. Cordes, I. Baums, B. Bernard, R. Church, P. Etnoyer, C.

 German,E. Goehring, I. McDonald, Harry Roberts, T. Shank, D. Warren, S. Welsh, G. Wolff.

 (2012) Exploration and research of northern Gulf of Mexico deepwater natural and artificial

 hard-bottom habitats with emphasis on coral communities: Reefs, rigs, and wrecks—“Lophelia

 II”: Interim report. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of

 Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study BOEM 2012-106. 135p.

•	 CSA International, Inc. (2007). Characterization of Northern Gulf of Mexico deepwater hard

 bottom communities with emphasis on Lophelia coral. U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals

 Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study MMS 2007-044.

 169 pp. + app. http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PI/PDFImages/ESPIS/4/4264.pdf

•	 Sulak, K. J., M. T. Randall, K. E. Luke, A. D. Norem, and J. M. Miller (Eds.). (2008)

 Characterization of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Hard Bottom Communities with

 Emphasis on Lophelia Coral - Lophelia Reef Megafaunal Community Structure, Biotopes,

 Genetics, Microbial Ecology, and Geology. USGS Open-File Report 2008-1148; OCS Study MMS

 2008-015

•	 Cordes, E. E., M. McGinley, E. Podowski, E. L. Becker, S. Lessard-Pilon, S. T. Viada and C. R.

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