Red coral populations and anthropogenic impacts on the shoals of the Gulf of Naples

Red coral (Corallium rubrum L.) populations of five banks in the Gulf of Naples, previously described at the beginning of the past century and heavily harvested for a long time, were investigated by ROV surveys conducted in 2010-2012. At present, in two of the five banks we did not record any red coral colony while in the other three banks C. rubrum populations have a density lower than 5 colonies m-2. Moreover, a large portion of the observed colonies (up to 70%) are dead. In this study we detected a strong negative correlation between the presence and density of the red coral populations and the fishing impact, evaluated as presence of abandoned fishing gears on the sea bottoms. In addition, water pollution was hypothesised as possible additional cause of coral mortality.