Tourism hope after coral reef discovery
There may be a marked absence of girls in grass skirts, and there are certainly no tropical temperatures, but Ireland can offer one tangible link with the exotic islands of the South Pacific - its own coral reef.
It is sited off the west coast and has been tracked down by after a search of a wide area extending over several hundred square miles involving geologists and biologists from five different countries.
Dr Anthony Grehan, of Galway University, chairman of the Irish Coral Task Force, reported: ‘‘We were able to use the very latest high-tech robotic submersible device from France to search for the reef with a series of dives in about five different locations.
‘‘We went down to depths of between 600 and 1000 metres. There are a number of European Union projects going on focused on some unique features off our west coast - one of them being carbonate mounds, bizarre underwater hills that grow anything up to 300 metres above the sea floor.
‘‘It’s been found in initial research that these are composed largely of the skeletons of hard corals.
‘‘And we found on the summits of these mounds there were actually living hard corals, which lead to eco-systems which are the parallel of tropical corals.’’
Dr Grehan said the Irish coral discovery was ‘‘highly significant’’. But he also reported that the reefs could be damaged by fishing activities like trawling.
So far, though, there was little evidence of that happening in Irish waters.
Bathers should not expect an early view of Ireland’s latest potential tourism attraction, though. Mr Grehan said: ‘‘The only way to get down is in a submersible.’’
But he added: ‘‘Tourist submersible are becoming available, and it is conceivable that in a few years time they may operate here so that people can get down to see the reefs.’’
In the meantime, there are plans to produce a documentary film in a few months time that will highlight the full scale of Ireland’s coral connections.
