Twenty kilometres south-west of Plymouth lies the Eddystone reef, its location easily determined by the Eddystone lighthouse. Jean-Luc Solandt describes the spectacular marine species associated with the reef and, even though the rocks themselves are largely left undisturbed, highlights the threats that the surrounding seabed faces from trawling and scallop-dredging.
The Eddystone reef is a series of underwater pinnacles, ascending from around 50m deep to the surface, some 20km (south-south-west) off Plymouth. It is best known for the lighthouse, which has been present in various forms since 1703, the current iteration having been constructed in 1882.