By Gemma Handy From TC Weekly News

A DEVASTATING disease that has wreaked havoc on Florida’s coral reefs due to its unprecedented scale and mortality rate has made its way to the TCI.

Experts told the Weekly News they were “very concerned” about recent sightings of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) near the southern tip of West Caicos.

TC Reef Fund (TCRF) volunteers carrying out survey work in the area reported evidence of the ailment, which typically appears like small patches of white exposed skeleton.

The illness destroys the soft tissue of many species of hard coral, often killing them within weeks of becoming infected.

It first appeared off the Floridian coast in 2014. Since then it has spread rapidly, affecting nearly half the corals on the Florida Reef Tract, and into the Caribbean archipelago with sightings in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the US Virgin Islands and St Maarten. 

While not all corals are susceptible – critically endangered staghorn and elkhorn appear not to be impacted – the disease is wiping out some of the region’s most important reef-building varieties, already under threat from bleaching due to rising water temperatures.

Scientists are still uncertain about the exact cause but it is thought to be due to bacteria and can be spread to other corals through direct contact and water circulation. 

The mortality rate is around 80 percent.

“We are very concerned about this as it’s a nasty disease that’s killing off a lot of the boulder corals,” TCRF chairman Don Stark told the Weekly News. 

Photographs taken of the corals feared to be affected were sent to the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) programme, an international conservation body, for confirmation.

AGRRA biologist Judith Lang said the sightings followed previous evidence of the condition off south-east South Caicos, later confirmed as SCTLD by researchers in Florida but not widely publicised.

Nine species of newly dead and dying corals near West Caicos were spotted and photographed by TCRF volunteer Alizee Zimmerman during a dive south of Spanish Anchor.

“Five of these species are rated as highly susceptible to SCTLD, two as intermediately susceptible and two as presumed susceptible,” Lang continued.

“We are trying to create a chronology of its distribution and spread.

To familiarise themselves with the signs, fishers and divers are encouraged to examine the photos and videos at AGRRA’s coral disease page www.agrra.org/coral-disease-outbreak/ and report any observations to local DECR personnel,” she added.

The battle to prevent the disease spreading will mean any equipment that enters the water in the area will have to be sanitised after each use.

An alert was sent out earlier this week by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) to watersports operators urging them to be on high alert and follow strict guidelines for effective decontamination of equipment.

The DECR is currently creating an action plan in a bid to stem further transmission.

Meanwhile, a TCRF announcement that the NGO has been named a member of the prestigious International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) could have serendipitous timing, potentially beefing up powers to fight the disease.

The move followed an extensive application process by the TCRF including showing proof of its achievements in recent years, concrete examples of how the group contributes to the local environment, and letters of recommendation by current IUCN members.

The fund’s application was endorsed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) in Barbados.  

The IUCN’s Council then reviewed the application and voted in favour.

TCRF’s membership of the heavyweight organisation is a first for the Islands. It means access to IUCN’s unrivalled knowledge base, extensive networking opportunities and access to high level decision-making enabling it to advance the Islands’ causes.

Stark said he was “honoured and pleased” to have been elected and was looking forward to representing the TCI’s interests.

The IUCN’s World Conservation Congress meets every four years; the next one is in June 2020.
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As far as what issues we will want to address, climate change is at the top of the list, given the vulnerability of the TCI’s environment and economy to this issue,” Stark added. 

“Invasive species and coral preservation are also important topics for us.”

Worldwide, coral reefs support about 25 percent of all known marine species and protect coastlines from the damaging effects of storms.

Email [email protected] for information and advice about stony coral tissue loss disease. Guidelines for curbing its spread can be found at: http://www.gov.tc/pressoffice

For more on this story go to: http://tcweeklynews.com/killer-coral-disease-hits-tci-dreaded-stony-coral-tissue-loss-disease-sigh-p9711-149.htm