A reef written off in the 1960s is alive

Scientists have rediscovered a coral reef off the coast of West Africa that researchers in the 1960s assumed was dead. Surveys back then, looking for good fishing grounds, flagged a possible deep-water reef and then wrote it off. Using modern sonar, an underwater drone and the Deep Sea Camera System from the National Geographic Exploration Technology Lab, a team from the Institute of Halieutic and Oceanographic Research in Cotonou, Benin surveyed seven miles of seabed and found a living reef instead. The footage showed eight kinds of coral and eight fish species sheltering nearby, including golden African snappers and the Monrovia doctorfish. It is the first confirmed record of a living mesophotic coral ecosystem on the Gulf of Guinea continental shelf. Lead author Gerard Zinzindohoue described the field work as long days at sea, technical problems and a lot of uncertainty. He remembers the first images. "It was a mix of excitement and disbelief," he said.