Abundance of Corals on Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico

Scleractinian, octocoral, and antipatharian corals have colonized many of the offshore oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We surveyed 25 offshore oil and gas platforms for these cnidarians. Few to no corals were detected on inshore, shallow-water structures at < 25 m depth; however, the abundance of corals increased, ranging from 14 to 194/m(2), on platforms in waters deeper >= 25 m. The most common coral encountered were Tubastraea coccinea (Scleractinia) and Telesto spp. (Octocorallia). The data suggest that the offshore platforms located in waters of > 25-30 m in the study area are often colonized by these corals. We recommend that structures located in deeper waters should be surveyed for coral and, if the populations are substantial, consider alternate uses for the retired platforms, and leaving them in place, when feasible.