The white or pink coral, called Lophelia
pertusa, was found in July in the North Sea for the first time on
two platforms that have been producing oil since the late 1970s,
according to a study in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.
The coral was also discovered on an oil-storage buoy in a
Norwegian fjord.
The Lophelia colonies were 22 inches long
on the platforms and up to 8 inches long on the buoy.
Not
Really Habitats Yet
The colonies are a long way from forming coral reefs, which are
prized as habitat for all sorts of marine life.
The findings were reported by Niall Bell,
a marine biologist with Cordah Environmental Management
Consultants in Aberdeen, Scotland, a company that provides
services to the oil industry.
The study suggests that any dismantling
of oil installations may need to take into account the Lophelia.
“We now believe that oil platforms
could be providing a firm base to enable the coral to expand its
distribution in the North Sea,” Bell said.
May
Survive Unpure Water
Bell also said the discovery of the apparently healthy colonies
indicates the coral may have a tolerance for certain chemical
discharges that result from oil drilling.
The environmental group Greenpeace
International maintains that oil rigs pose a potential threat to
natural coral reefs and that the discovery of the Lophelia is no
reason to allow unused rigs to remain in place.
“Marine life will always grow on
rubbish discarded in the sea,” said Simon Reddy, a Greenpeace
spokesman in London. “If I were to dump a used car in the
forest, I would expect moss to grow on it, and if I was lucky, a
bird might even nest on it. But is this justification to fill our
forests with used cars?” 
