World’s largest coral is 300 years old and was discovered by accident

In the southwestern Pacific Ocean, off the coast of one of the tropical Solomon Islands, a giant structure beneath the surface of the water has just been identified as the world’s largest coral.

Visiting the remote site in mid-October, a group of scientists and filmmakers National Geographic he thought the object was so big, it must be the remains of a shipwreck.

But when the underwater cinematographer Manu San Felix He jumped into the water to take a closer look, and was amazed at what he saw.

“I remember very well that I was jumping and looking down, and I was shocked,” he told reporters at a conference. Instead of a shipwreck, San Félix encountered the largest coral ever found. “It’s terrible,” he said. “The size is close to the size of a cathedral.”

The coral, found a few hundred meters off the east coast of Malaulalo Island, has been identified as a species. Peacock nails Measuring 34 meters wide and 32 meters long, it is larger than a blue whale and is believed to be 300 years old.

He says the discovery was a “happy accident.” Enrique Sala of National GeographicThe Pristine Seas project aims to inspire governments to protect ocean ecosystems through exploration and research. It is the largest coral colony ever discovered, which it easily beats previous record – a giant Poritis Colony found in American Samoa in 2019, 22.4 meters in diameter and 8 meters high.

In the past two years, record ocean temperatures have been set wave of coral bleaching events around the world. But while other reefs in the Solomon Islands show signs of bleaching, Sala says P. nail the coral is looking healthy. It’s vital habitat for ocean life, he says, providing shelter and food for fish, shrimp, worms and crabs. “It’s like a lot of old-growth forest.”

But coral is not immune to ecological threats, from local pollution and overfishing to global climate change. Sala says he would like to see marine protected areas (MPAs) established to protect marine life from local pollution, alongside global action to tackle climate change. “Protecting the reef can’t cool the water, can’t prevent ocean warming,” he says. “We have to fix that, we have to reduce carbon emissions. But MPAs can help us buy time, making reefs more resilient.’