A group of 36 scientists from 18 countries launched the Tropical Americas Coral Reef Resilience Workshop to track coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean. They found that reefs in some areas in the Caribbean are faring fine – the reef ecosystem in the Cayman Islands, for example, is “relatively intact compared to average conditions in the region.” But in other places, like Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the coral cover falls below 10 percent (compared to 30 percent in the Caymans), there is a dangerous level of microalgae and “virtually no fish larger than a few centimeters.” Total coral in the Florida Keys, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico “has progressively declined from 25 to 35 percent in the 1970s to less than 15 percent today.” The report calls it a “catastrophic collapse.”

While the workshop team is careful not to point fingers at any one cause, it says that “human exploitation and disturbance” play an “obvious role.” It notes that the healthiest reefs are in places with low levels of land pollution, some regulation and enforcement of fisheries’ practices, some financial prosperity, and “lower frequency of hurricanes, coral bleaching and disease.” But it stops short there, saying they need to do more research.

Even if the exact causes are still up for debate, the consequences of inaction are not. Warning that “time s running out for corals on the Caribbean reefs,” the IUCN is calling for urgent measures to cut pollution and aggressive fishing methods. What can you do? Start by eating less fish.

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If you haven’t yet heard the term “ocean acidification,” it’s really no surprise. The term is not as sexy and easy to use as the generic “global warming” but yet it’s just as important to know about. Decreases in the pH of our sea water over the last several hundred years, due to increased levels of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and absorbed by the ocean, is changing seawater chemistry and having a detrimental effect on the health of the marine ecosystem. As CO2 is absorbed in the ocean, it makes carbonic acid which then breaks down into hydrogen ions and bicarbonate ions. The hydrogen ions reduce the water’s alkalinity and increase its acidity.

The ocean absorbs about one quarter of the CO2 we release, and over the last 250 years there has been a nearly 30 percent rise in acidity in our oceans. This is calcifying corals, altering underwater acoustic properties that fish count on for navigation, destroying parts of the food chain, and leaving shellfish and corals without the essential ingredient (carbonate) they use to make shells and skeletons.

Recent models are predicting that if we don’t move fast to reduce CO2 emissions, pH levels in the ocean will drop to 7.8 – a level not seen for millions of years. These changes are happening 100 times faster than ever before and time is running out to protect the health of our oceans.

For more information on ocean acidification, check out the following links:

• Ocean Acidification
• National Science Foundation
• Center for Biological Diversity

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