December 9, 2014 — With ocean policymakers mulling new protections for deep-sea canyons off the East Coast, a new report portrays them as vulnerable "treasure troves" of marine life at risk from fishing trawlers.
Drawing on a series of exploratory scientific cruises the past few years, the Natural Resources Defense Council says more than 40 different species of corals, at least three newly discovered, have been found in the submarine canyons cut into the continental shelf 100 miles off the Mid-Atlantic coast.
"These canyons are treasure troves of discovery," said Brad Sewell, the NRDC's fisherires policy director.
Besides the corals, scientists on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cruises have glimpsed a bonanza of other creatures in the canyons, including the elusive Greenland shark, endangered fin and sperm whales, lobsters and such exotic species as whiplash squid, dumbo octopus, sea butterfly, sea toad and tonguefish.
Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun