We made headlines this month for our ongoing efforts to stop the spread of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). This ‘silent killer’ is a disease that has plagued our country’s popsicle-blue waters for over a year, traveling up to 50 meters (55 yards) per day and killing hundreds of corals in its wake.
“The reality is, the disease is spreading and it’s spreading very fast,” said Dr Valeria Pizarro, our senior coral reef scientist. “If we lose those species which build up coral reefs, we might lose coral reefs in the long term with profound ecological impacts,” she said.
PIMS is a key member of the Bahamas Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Task Force, and has already confirmed the presence of SCTLD on reefs off Grand Bahama, New Providence and North Eleuthera. Our early assessments also show some species are more susceptible than others; brain corals, for example, are particularly susceptible to infection and often die within weeks.
SCTLD has also been reported but not verified in Abaco and the Exumas. Worse still, the disease affects more than 20 hard coral species in the Caribbean.
“I’ve been diving since I was a teenager and I’m now in my 30s, and I’ve never seen so much coral death,” said Dr. Krista Sherman, a fellow senior scientist at PIMS. “It’s depressing.”
Read more in the media here!
And if you see corals infected with SCTLD, don’t forget to report it here. Please provide photos of the suspected case of SCTLD if possible, and let us know the location.
Eleven of twelve Bahamian seafood species are overfished. Now we have the numbers.
A new peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers in Marine Science delivers the first stock assessments for twelve commercially and culturally important Bahamian seafood species. Eleven of the twelve are overfished. Only dolphinfish comes out healthy.
Bluequest Bahamas Wins National Award for Community Coral Restoration
Bluequest Bahamas, a Perry Institute Reef Rescue Network partner based at Delaporte Beach in Nassau, won the Community Conservation, Education, and Action (CCEA) award at the UN Tourism Bahamas Sustainable Islands Challenge. Here is how they built the coral restoration program that earned it.
Why Coral Spawning Matters and How It Works
Coral Science & Conservation The Birth of the Next Generation of Bahamian Reefs: Why Coral Spawning Matters Every year, under the light of a late-summer full moon, something extraordinary happens
Listening for Nassau Grouper at Cayos Cochinos
Our Senior Scientist Dr. Krista Sherman just returned from her fourth year training Honduras Coral Reef Foundation staff on acoustic telemetry, listening for Nassau grouper at Roatan Bank.
The Complete Guide to Planting Coral Reefs: Restoration Methods That Work
Plan your diving trip to Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. Discover the best dive sites, coral reefs, how to get there, where to stay, and why this Abaco island is a hidden gem for underwater adventure.
Green Turtle Cay Travel Guide for Divers
Plan your diving trip to Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. Discover the best dive sites, coral reefs, how to get there, where to stay, and why this Abaco island is a hidden gem for underwater adventure.
