Malta Diary Malta and Gozo – a sea of treasures … the Coral Islands
ALBERT FENECH
The OCEANA survey results world record depth for red coral established by Malta
e/mail – salina46af@gmail.com
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Black coral jewelry
From an early age I was a habitual bookworm, reading everything that was readable. Road signs, displayed adverts, street notices, newspapers, magazines, books and what have you, and I still am today, rarely bypassing anything readable without reading it.
With a childhood spent in England from the age of seven onwards, there were many late winter nights spent propped up in bed, a small reading lamp beside me, cascading rain splattering the window pane and the wind howling at the door – yet all so far away and isolated from me as I engrossed myself with The Coral Island, Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson and my all-time favourite, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, a book I have read a hundred times over and a film I have seen a hundred times over.
The protected marine zones of the Maltese Islands
Late nights followed early mornings as I shook off sleepy eyes a few hours before school to continue my reading which I had reluctantly put down just a few meagre hours away, dreaming of marine adventures and billowing tropical seas.
A few years back I came across a recent news item that left me spellbound and wondering and also put me on a road to discovery about something I had no concept of.
The OCEANA and its deep sea robot at work
Malta had then set a new depth record for the finding of precious red coral! This resulted after two separate expeditions carried out surveys of the deep sea surrounding the Maltese Islands in 2015. Deep sea underwater robots equipped with a video camera were used to explore the depths and surprised watching scientists by revealing numerous colonies of precious red coral (Corallium rubrum) growing at depths of over one kilometre, that is 200 metres even deeper than the previous record which – surprise, surprise – was also held by Malta.
The scientific team operated from the NGO Oceana in conjunction with the University of Malta’s Biology Department and undertook the surveys with the University analysing all the collected data. The findings were presented during the 41st Congress of the International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean (CIESM) held in Kiel, Germany in September three years ago.
The dreaded Moray Eel one of the hazards with sharp biting posionous fangs
Malta University Professor Patrick J. Schembri explained that red coral colonies are usually found at depths of between 300 and 1,000 metres and thus caused surprise at being found in depths even exceeding one kilometre.
“This record was a surprise to us all” said Professor Schembri, “but it goes to show just how little we know about the sea which surrounds our own islands.”
A red and black coral display
There were other surprises too. These included the discovery of a fossilised sponge reef at a depth of 300 metres, deep-water caves at 450 metres as well as a great number of sand and mud habitats inhabited by a number of marine communities including some very rare and threatened species.
Never one to let sleeping dogs lie, I had to investigate further. I knew that red and black coral existed around Mediterranean coastlines, particularly off Tunisia and also around Sardinia and Corsica. In fact during a holiday in Sardinia I had bought several red coral necklaces and pendants for my wife.
The beautiful marine wonders of Malta and Gozo
What I never knew or anticipated was that such corals existed at depths in Malta, and thankfully at depths because it would long ago have been pilfered by divers!
Another scientific paper published by Marine Biodiversity Records, co-authored by Maltese marine biologist Alan Deidun, revealed other details hitherto unknown to me.
Red coral clusters at depths of more than one kilometre
On information compiled mostly from various writings and via interviews with Maltese fishermen and former directors of the Mediterranean Coral Fishing Company, established in 1984, shows how more than a ton of the red coral and over 250 kilograms of black coral were lifted from Maltese coastal waters between 1984 and 1987.
Apparently, before a clampdown, there was also an active smuggling trade of red and black coral lifted from Tunisian waters making its way illicitly to Malta – but then that’s always been the characteristic of our small Mediterranean Islands whether it is coral, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or whatever.
Precious black coral
And with that I leave you to continue my dreams of young Jack Hawkins, Ben Gunn and Long John Silver and his parrot squawking “Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight” still living and active in my memories of my beloved Treasure Island – the stuff of my boyhood.
Today’s youngsters can keep their iphones, apps and tablets. Who needs them when I have my library to immerse in?
Red coral smuggled from Tunisia
ALBERT FENECH
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MALTESE SAYING
“An infested donkey is then attacked by a plague of flies”
An expression meaning that despite having many problems, more problems keep piling up.
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Classic red coral display
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