US Agency Moves to Tackle Deadly Coral Disease in Caribbean

The budget of the new plan aimed at tackling the coral affliction is estimated at $125 million.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hasset out a new plan to tackle a dangerous disease that afflicts corals in the Caribbean.

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first reported in Florida in 2014. This lethal affliction plagues over 30 species of corals, and outbreaks have since been reported in various corners of the Caribbean, according to the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment program.

The NOAA’s plan involves several steps, such as expanding the capacity for research and data collection on SCTLD, promoting awareness of the disease’s “science, status and indicators”, and supporting coral rescue and propagation, with the budget for the entire scheme estimated at $125 million.

NOAA and its partners intend to “work to identify feasible funding sources to enable the implementation of the activities in this plan”. Once funding is secured, the projects in question will be “implemented through NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program”.

“The implementation plan prioritizes objectives from the strategy document that, over the next five years, will be most impactful in disease response and prevention efforts,” NOAA’s document states. “Recognizing that SCTLD will likely be present on US coral reefs for the foreseeable future, the implementation plan also highlights key actions necessary to understand and address this new threat to coral reefs over the long-term.”