While exploring Baltimore Canyon during Windows to the Deep 2019, we encountered large, healthy walls of Paragorgia, or bubblegum coral. These corals have been around a long, long time, serving as important habitat for other animals. They now sit within the recently established Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area, off the coast of Virginia.
Near the end of the dive is when we observed these larger rock outcrops and overhangs that provided homes to these high-density bubblegum corals, some of which were over two meters (seven feet) in size. The science team saw so many colonies that they nicknamed the dive “Paragorgia Fest 2019.”
Near the end of the dive is when we observed these larger rock outcrops and overhangs that provided homes to these high-density bubblegum corals, some of which were over two meters (seven feet) in size. The science team saw so many colonies that they nicknamed the dive “Paragorgia Fest 2019.”
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Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Windows to the Deep 2019.