rewildingchile, offspring of tompkins_conservation, is celebrating the discovery of rare red hydrocoral colonies from Patagonia’s largely unexplored and little-understood marine ecosystems. These red hydrocorals were found in the remote waters of Chile’s Kawésqar National Marine Reserve in the Strait of Magellan. These corals are very fragile, slow-growing, and highly sensitive to environmental impacts. Despite their importance to the health of the seabed and marine life, they have no legal protection and are threatened by the development of industrial non-native Atlantic Salmon farms in the reserve where they were found. This recent discovery highlights the importance of creating marine protected areas around the world, especially in vulnerable hotspots of biodiversity. Photo credit: Pablo Zavala #OceanClimateAction #Rewilding #MarineProtection #30x30 #PatagonianSea