The sea trees of Trondheim

Rudolf Svensen · Issue 30, May/Jun 2006 · pp. 56–59

Products mentioned: Subal Nikon F90, Sigma 14mm lens, Hartenberger strobes, Fuji Velvia, Nikkor 60mm lens

My 10-litre deco-gas cylinder thumps rhythmically against my hip as I battle the current’s efforts to knock me off the wall. Below is the abyss - should I slip and fall I would travel 100m before hitting the bottom. Ahead I see it, a sea tree, perhaps the first ever to be observed by a diver. Broadside on to the current, it looks like a big fan. It is eating! On the opposite side of the sea tree Frank Emil has obviously managed to settle on firm ground, because I can see his camera flashing continually. Sea trees (Paragorgia arborea) normally grow to 1-2m, but can reach as much as 6m. These horn corals usually live between 200 and 1300m deep, but we have found the exception, in this shallow habitat in Norway’s Trondheimsfjord. Here unique marine conditions allow such corals to grow within reach of divers. Sea trees are filter-eaters, picking out their food from the water that passes thro…