NOAA Release

[michaelg]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     September 26, 2002

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 02-125

CONTACT:  David Miller, NOAA  (202) 482-6090

 

NOAA RELEASES FIRST NATIONAL STUDY OF U.S. CORAL REEFS

New Report Highlights Key Actions and Addresses Threats

 

The first-ever national assessment of the condition of U.S. coral reefs

was released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic

 

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The report identifies the

pressures that pose increasing risks to reefs, particularly in certain

“hot spots” located near population centers.  The report also assesses

the health of reef resources, ranks threats in 13 geographic areas, and

details mitigation efforts.

Led by NOAA’s National Ocean Service, the 265-page report, The State of

Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated

 

States, was developed by 38 coral reef experts and 79 expert

contributors. Prepared under the auspices of the U.S. Coral Reef Task

Force, the report establishes a baseline that will now be used for

biennial reports on the health of U.S. coral reefs.  NOAA has also

released A National Coral Reef Strategy, a report to Congress outlining

specific action to address 13 major goals, including continuing mapping

and monitoring, to safeguard reefs. The reports will be highlighted when

 

the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meets on October 2-3, in San Juan, Puerto

 

Rico.

 

Co-chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the

Interior, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force was established in 1998 to help

 

lead U.S. efforts to address the coral reef crisis.  It includes the

heads of 11 federal agencies and governors of seven states, territories

and commonwealths.

 

NOAA scientists have already achieved a scientific milestone in mapping

coral reefs.  Working with public and private partners in Puerto Rico

and the U.S. Virgin Islands, they successfully mapped coral ecosystems

around those islands using a novel 26-category classification system and

 

mapping process.

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“The new classification is a vital management tool that tells us where

the reefs are, what lives on them, and what relationships may be to

neighboring habitats and human activities,” said retired Navy Vice Adm.

Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and

 

atmosphere and NOAA administrator.  “We now have a complete snapshot of

the U.S. Caribbean region, a clear, consistent baseline for future

mapping, and a solid model to implement good management in other

regions.”

 

The mapping process developed in the U.S. Caribbean is currently being

applied in Hawaii, and then Guam, American Samoa and other U.S.

territories with coral reefs.

 

Clear action is needed because an estimated 27 percent of the world’s

shallow water coral reefs may already be beyond recovery.  An estimated

66 percent are now severely degraded.  Craig Manson, assistant secretary

 

for fish and wildlife and parks, Department of the Interior, called

release of the first national study of U.S. coral reefs “an important

first report card on the health of U.S. reefs.  It’s a valuable tool for

 

raising public awareness about the global decline of these unique

treasures,” he said.

 

The report indicates that, in all areas, some U.S. reefs are in good to

excellent health.  But it also states that every U.S. reef system is

suffering from both human and natural disturbances.  U.S. reefs share

problems with reefs globally, especially the effects of rapidly growing

coastal populations. Over 10.5 million people now live in U.S. coastal

areas adjacent to shallow coral reefs. Every year, 45 million people

visit these areas.

 

While natural environmental pressures such as temperature, sea-level

changes, diseases and storms have shaped coral reefs for at least

thousands of years, human-induced pressures are now also taking their

toll.  Coastal pollution, coastal development and runoff, and

destructive fishing practices are among the top-ranked threats.  These

are followed by ship groundings, diseases, changing climate, trade in

coral and live reef species, alien species, marine debris, harmful

tourist activity and tropical storms.

 

Overall, Florida and the U.S. Caribbean were found to be in the poorest

condition, mainly because of nearby dense populations and the effects of

 

hurricanes, disease, overfishing and a proliferation of algae.  Live

coral cover in the Florida Keys has declined 37 percent over the past

five years.  Of 31 coral reef fishery stocks in federal waters, 23 are

overfished in the U.S. Caribbean. Coral disease is especially high in

the Caribbean, where over 90 percent of the once abundant longspine sea

urchins died in the early 1980s.  Vital in keeping coral from being

overgrown and killed by algae, they have since recovered to just 10

percent of their original numbers off the coasts of Florida, Puerto Rico

 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  In 20 years, white-band disease has killed

 

nearly all the elkhorn and staghorn corals off the coasts of St. Croix,

Puerto Rico and southeast Florida.

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The report also details coral reef conditions in the Flower Garden Banks

 

of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, Nassau, the Hawaiian Archipelago,

American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana islands

and the Pacific Freely Associated States (Republic of the Marshall

Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau).

 

As ancient animals, corals evolved into modern reef-building forms over

the last 25 million years. Today these living forms are earth’s largest

biological structures. They are essential sources of food, jobs,

chemicals, shoreline protection and life-saving pharmaceuticals.

Tourism in U.S. coral reef areas generates over $17 billion annually.

Commercial fishing generates an additional $246.9 million annually.  In

South Florida alone, reefs support 44,500 jobs, providing a total annual

 

income of $1.2 billion.

 

Data and other information derived from NOAA’s coral reef efforts are

now available at CoRIS, a new Coral Reef Information System Web site

that provides a single point of access for nearly 20,000 aerial photos,

navigational charts, photo mosaics, monitoring reports, professional

exchanges and much more.

 

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration  (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and

national safety through the prediction and research of weather and

climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our

nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA please

visit http://www.noaa.gov The new reports and CoRIS Web site are

available at http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov. Digital map products are

available on CD-ROM and at http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov.

 

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