Critical knowledge gaps in the conservation and restoration of cold‐water corals

Introduction Critical knowledge gaps hamper effective conservation of threatened cold-water coral (CWC) ecosystems, facing cumulative anthropogenic and climate pressures. This review provides a strategic roadmap for urgent, informed intervention. Objectives This review synthesizes global expert consensus to identify and prioritize key knowledge gaps impeding CWC conservation and restoration. Our objective is to provide a strategic roadmap for research, funding, and policy over the next decade. Methods Through literature synthesis and a global expert panel (i.e. the authors), we identified and prioritized critical knowledge gaps in CWC conservation and restoration. Priorities were defined as challenges addressable within a decade through focused international collaboration and funding. Results We identified 10 knowledge gaps across five themes, including CWC status and distribution, community composition, early life history, metapopulation dynamics and connectivity, growth, and food dynamics. We then provide recommendations for international policy that would support CWC protection. Conclusions Addressing these research priorities is a prerequisite for effective conservation strategies. A coordinated international effort is crucial over the next decade to translate this knowledge into actionable plans and prevent irreversible biodiversity loss. Implications for Practice Conservation and restoration of slow-growing cold-water coral (CWC) is hampered by a lack of basic bio-logical data, particularly regarding distribution, early life history, population connectivity, growth, and trophic ecology. Future efforts must prioritize this research to develop viable techniques and protect critical larval source populations. CWC recovery spans decades to centuries, a timescale fundamentally misaligned with typical project durations, which are often constrained by short-term funding cycles (e.g. 3–5 years). Therefore, establishing internationally coordinated, long-term monitoring programs at both restoration and natural reference sites is essential to accurately measure success. While universal monitoring duration is scientifically premature, programs must be planned on a multi-decadal scale (e.g. 20–50 years) to capture key ecological milestones.