Coral diseases are widely reported in the tropics but the first incidence of cold-water coral disease was not noted until 2002 when divers recorded an outbreak at 10-28 m depth off Lundy in a NE Atlantic marine protected area. The seafan Eunicella verrucosa exhibited coenchyme necrosis and subsequent diving surveys of \u3e600 colonies at 13 sites since revealed that disease outbreaks were widespread in SW England to depths of 50 m from 2003-2008, possibly caused by infection by Vibrio bacteria at high temperatures
