According to NOAA deep below the sea, 75 miles southwest of Monterey, lies a pristine mountain covered with vast marine forests boasting pink and orange corals twice as tall as humans, harboring strange species of fish and invertebrates. After thorough study the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that Davidson Seamount is officially part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
It is told that the seamount will now be fully protected from any harm or exploitation, including destructive fishing and harvesting of corals. Lonny Lundsten, a deep-sea coral researcher from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, opined that it is going to be the first seamount in U.S. waters to be protected. He added that this is really taking a step to preserve an environment that is comparable to an old-growth forest or any other place of scenic grandeur.
Andrew DeVogelaere, research coordinator at the sanctuary, said that it’s one of these places that engender a sense of wonder and exploration of people. David Clague, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, informed that there are only a few peaks that extend up into that zone where the corals are, and we’ve been to about eight of them.
It is found that commercial trawlers have yet to touch down on Davidson Seamount. Most of the fish species found on the seamount are unique deep-sea fish species, such as rattails and sea toads, which are not viable for commercial fisheries. And the seamount’s great depth puts it beyond the capabilities of most commercial fishing gear.
Steve Scheiblauer, Monterey harbormaster, is of a view that the inclusion of Davidson Seamount into the sanctuary shouldn’t affect fishermen at all. He told that there was large agreement that it had a lot of special qualities, and it should be fully protected from the bottom. Protection there was a win-win thing.
