50% of Coral Reefs dead in 12 months

[ScubaDave]

YouTube - 50% of Caribbean Coral Reefs died in last 12 months!

This article shocked me. I realised that Coral Reefs were dying of course, the same as the rest of the planet. I had no idea that it was happening this fast though! It really is scary. Do you think there's anything we can do?

[DJChesnutRabbit]

Wow, that really sucks. I believe there are things being done to help repopulate the coral reefs.
I just saw a presentation about project SECORE. They are growing carribian species of acropora through sexual reproduction and plan to release them back to the wild. It's a start.

[whynotfive]

I think that anything will be too little too late. With the changes in water temperature and pollutants in the water, they are changes that cannot be reversed quickly. We are stuck with them and consequently all we can do is hope that they do not become extinct before we can find a way to right the problem.

[DJChesnutRabbit]

Part of project SEACORE is starting a cryogenic bank where they are saving samples of the corals, which is going to preserve the corals for years to come, although maybe not the reef.
I think it's still a lot better than sitting here saying what if, and when...

Gives you a lot to think about next time your at the LFS looking at all the pretty coral. Ask if it was aquacultured or maricultured, so your helping to maintain what reef we have left, and see what the reply is. The large majority is still plucked from the reef.