NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is “assaulting” the country for more than two years, killing coral across the 700-island archipelago and leaving reef destruction on the scale of 200 million dead and dying.
That’s according to Bahamas-based Perry Institute and the Bahamas National Trust, which has requested permission to launch an on-land coral rescue facility given the disease’s impossibly fast spread.
“Imagine what our country would look like without coral reefs supporting our fisheries, our tourism sector, and our cultural way of life,” Dr Krista Sherman, senior scientist at the Bahamas-based Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS).
“Would it still feel like paradise?
“I want you to imagine The Bahamas without coral reefs because this is the grim and stark reality that’s staring us in the face.
“Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease is an environmental catastrophe the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
“And make no mistake, we’re going to lose the majority of our reef-building corals in less than five years unless we deal with this issue immediately and with full force.”
Sherman and her colleagues at PIMS with support from the BNT and public alert system first began diagnosing disease-stricken Bahamian corals upon first sighting in Grand Bahama in 2019.
Their latest findings processed just last week show SCTLD has now infected at least 175 square miles of the nation’s coral reefs to date and has already driven local extinctions of key reef-building species.
Most recently, PIMS discovered SCTLD in the northern Exumas, leading scientists to worry about the fate of the world’s oldest land and sea park and flagship of the Bahamas National Protected Area System.
Prime Minister Brave Davis’ constituency of San Salvador was also among the hardest-hit places; every nearshore reef around the island is infected and three coral species that were once common are now locally extinct.
“In order to save the Exumas, San Salvador and other islands from total ecosystem collapse we must continue to treat these areas aggressively and undertake new research to better understand disease spread and prevention,” said Dr Sherman, who is renowned for being the first-ever Bahamian woman to receive her doctorate degree in marine biology.
“With no end in sight for the underwater pandemic, it will take years of dedicated efforts, public-private partnerships, and significant funding to fight back – and quite frankly, to save the country’s reefs.”
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