Scleractinia off Canary Islands Seamounts | Scleractinia de Montes Submarinos de las islas Canarias

South of Fuerteventura (Amanay and El Banquete banks) and La Concepción bank (north of Lanzarote) are the areas chosen to be depicted at Canary Islands in the frame of INDEMARES project. The main aim of the project was to end up with an inventory and mapping of habitats and fisheries footprint off the study area, information which would let the administrations to establish a new Natura 2000 area, trying to reconcile protection of biodiversity with artisanal local economic activities. Methodology approach complies with a multidisciplinary perspective, having described the area from geological, oceanographic, biological and fisheries points of view. Several surveys have taken place since 2009 to 2013 at Amanay, El Banquete and La Concepción waters. Data from VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) were used, combined with interviews to users (fishers), sampling at landing points and onboard observation programs, to describe the fishery uses in the area. The sets were made with two direct samplers, benthic dredge and beam trawl, between 60 and 1597 m depth, haul duration of 5 and 15 minutes long, respectively. The sampling within the project has yielded results that allow a comprehensive overview on the distribution and biodiversity of Scleractinia off seamounts. In each station total invertebrates catch was separated to specific level, counted and weighted. The order Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) is one of the cnidarian groups with greater biodiversity and abundance within benthic communities. Total Scleractinia biomass collected is 1 950 g, a total of 334 organisms (individuals and colonies). The 37% of the abundance belonging to Caryophyllidae, 27% Dendrophyllidae, 22% Flabellidae and 12% Deltocyathidae. Another Families present are Oculinidae, Faviidae and Astrocoenidae (2%). 44% of biomass is due to the family Caryophyllidae, 25% to Flabellidae and 22% to Dendrophyllidae, being these the three more prominent groups. It’s very important the appearance of species considered as VME (Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems) indicator organisms –Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758), Madrepora oculata Linnaeus, 1758, Anomocora fecunda (Pourtalès, 1871), Solenosmilia variabilis Duncan, 1873 and Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck, 1816)-, the 60% of biomass, and other habitat structuring species as Flabellum (Flabellum) chunii (24% of the biomass).