Click for larger image size
Large plate coral is not rare except you won’t find them where many fishing and dive boats anchor.
A small anchor easily damages a formation like this one. Some years ago a famous Australian underwater model posed on a plate coral (similar to the pose shown here) and was widely criticized for encouraging others to do the same – it was argued at the time it may result in the brittle formation breaking.
My guess today is that large formations of plate coral will be hard to find anywhere near densely populated islands of Asia.
This picture was taken in Australia at Great Keppel Island, Queensland in 1988.
This piece of coral has since died after a massive fresh water flood. Nature can destroy coral just as easily as humans.
Fishing with explosives is another sure way of getting rid of the marine environment, fast.
