Researchers have discovered a giant coral colony on the north-western coast of Saudi Arabia, in a part of the Red Sea that is being developed as a luxury tourist resort.
The colony, a feature within a reef made up of one specific type of the tiny coral-building animal known as a polyp, is suspected to be of the species Pavona clavus and measures approximately 30 metres by 21 metres, making it probably the largest discovered in the Red Sea.
at Red Sea Global, the developer building a series of luxury tourist resorts at the site, says she was patrolling the reef during 2024鈥檚 marine heatwaves when she spotted the giant coral. 鈥淪wimming by, I just saw a big shadow, and I decided to go deeper,鈥� she says.
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Jagerroos and her colleagues believe the coral is between 400 and 800 years old and say it is in good health, despite extreme water temperatures recorded during November and December 2024.
鈥淲e surveyed it in January this year, after the temperature had dropped back down,鈥� says , also at Red Sea Global. 鈥淪o it was really nice to see a thriving, healthy coral at that point.鈥�
The find was made 30 to 40 metres offshore at Red Sea Global鈥檚 Amaala site, a luxury tourism project spanning 4200 square kilometres. The first hotels are set to open this year.
Guests will be able to visit and dive to the resort鈥檚 coral reefs, including this newly discovered giant colony. But Ahmed Al-Ansari, who is in charge of environmental protection at Red Sea Global, insists safeguarding the region鈥檚 reefs will remain a top priority, with regular expert monitoring promised.
The firm has a commitment to deliver a 30 per cent net environmental benefit to its Amaala project by 2040, when construction is to be completed, says Al-Ansari.
Suka is planning to spend the next year hunting for more giant corals across Red Sea Global鈥檚 project sites. 鈥淭he more of them that we find, the more opportunity there is to learn from them,鈥� she says.
at Israel鈥檚 Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the giant coral is a 鈥渞emarkable finding鈥� that can help scientists better understand why Red Sea corals appear more resilient than other corals to rising water temperatures.
But he worries the coral will find itself at the centre of a major tourist destination, where construction activity, sewage pollution and chemicals from sunscreens could all pose a threat to fragile ecosystems. He urges Red Sea Global to ensure the risk of harm is kept to a minimum by tightly controlling visitor numbers and activities near the coral. Development in the region is a 鈥渉uge risk鈥�, he warns.
