The Second Technical Meeting on Red Coral of the Mediterranean was thus held in Torre del Greco at the end of September 1988.
the final document states “it is indispensable, for purposes of an exact assessment of coral, to carry out a systematic inquiry and a precise evaluation of the resources of red coral in the entire Mediterranean area.“Only after such an inquiry can we determine whether red coral is truly about to become extinct.
“Scientists must undertake a series of studies on how and in what quantities coral grows in the various geographic areas, on the phenomena that delay its growth (pollution in primis), the criteria, if there are any, for its reproduction in laboratories or by breeding.
“Only after we have this data will it be possible to ensure a rational exploitation of the resources and a balanced rotation of fishing zones that also considers the supply needed for manufacture.”
It was on this occasion that they established the basis for the “Italian Group for Coral Research” whose enthusiastic members included about twenty Universities and Marine Biology Institutes. Fabio Cicogna was appointed coordinator, having done everything possible to ensure the success of the Consultation. Another member was the Oceanology and Paleoecology Institute of the University of Catania, which assumed the task of studying the Coral of Sciacca.
Under the leadership of Prof. Italo Di Geronimo, Professors Antonietta Rosso and Rossana Sanfilippo did some excellent research, both at sea and in the laboratory. Meticulous, accurate and difficult work. This is the final report:
“...in conclusion, based on the data emerging from this research and in literature we can formulate some initial theories on the possible origin of the coral banks of Sciacca. Specifically:
“In the area of the Sciacca banks there are submerged reliefs of volcanic and sedimentary nature, that could host or could have hosted red coral.
“The fossil banks exploited in the last century appear to be related only to submerged reliefs of volcanic origin while there is no indications of dead red coral around the other reliefs.
“This fact could be related to the scanty cohesion of the tuffite that composes the volcanic structures and that in the presence of occasional strong currents or even small seismic movements, could be subject to fragmentation, slides and falls that result in a continutous, and sometimes large accumulation of matter at their base. A ring of mixed organogenic and inorganic debris, rich in fragments and colonies of red coral, which could also slide into the surrounding bathyal mud would form an underwater bank.
The ingegni of the previous century would fish inside these rings around the submerged structures, scattering the material that the dredges could not grasp along the bottom as it was dragged, thus enlarging the area of the “bank”.
The more superficial, and youngest, material extracted was generally of better quality than the lower layers, regardless of when it was buried.
The oldest layer of red coral could be very old but almost certainly not antecedent to the last glacial period (about 18,000 years ago) because no fauna characteristic of a cold environment were found in the thanatocoenoses.
Further studies could clarify the origin of the Sciacca banks. In particular, it would be interesting to attempt to reconstruct the recent sediment stratification of the area, using absolute dating on the skeletal remains. Such a study would give a more detailed idea of the time required to form the Sciacca banks.”
It was an invitation! They had done an excellent job in Catania, but – as they themselves admit – further studies and tests were required. They had turned on a light in my head that I just could not turn off...
to be Continued...
[text taken with license from the author Giuseppe Rajola from the book Sciacca Mystery]
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