VIRGIN ISLANDS (7 Jan 2006) -- The Virgin Islands coral reef projects is about to receive a shot in the arm with an infusion of federal funds. Just before Congress left for its holiday recess, the U.S. Senate approved the reauthorization of the 2000 Coral Conservation Act. It will provide approximately $500,000 a year for the management and monitoring of coral reefs in the territory through 2012. The House Committee on Resources still have to act on the bill. Over the past few years, coral reefs in the territory have been under scrutiny by both the federal and local governments, along with a number of private organizations. These groups have been concerned with at least two events that have impacted this vital marine life support system. One is the bleaching effect caused by high ocean temperatures throughout the Caribbean this year and soil erosion in the territory. According to the director of the non-profit group Coralations of Puerto Rico, Mary Ann Lucking, only a few areas in the Caribbean escaped the hot waters. Even though the bleaching effect in the Virgin Islands is showing some signs of abating and some of the corals are beginning to recover, scientists have said there is no help for some corals which are already dead. Those who are monitoring the coral reefs said that it will be months before it will be known how much of the corals have died. Marcia Taylor, the UVI marine adviser and one of the monitors, said in November that about 95 percent of the corals in shallower waters around St. Croix were bleached. "This was the worst we've seen," Taylor said. "We had some bleaching in 1998, but it wasn't this bad. There were species where all of them were bleached and some that rarely were bleached. There were some deeper sites that were not as affected. The deeper sites are more insulated." The stress that the reefs have to endure not only comes from acts of Mother Nature, but also from man-made acts in the form of pollution, which also threatens the health of our coral reefs. World Resources Institute, a District of Columbia-based organization, recently released an 18-month "Reef at Risk" study on soil erosion. It was part of the Non-Point Source Pollution Conference sponsored by the Planning and Natural Resources Department and other agencies. The study showed the many bays and popular recreation areas were at risk of erosion where sediment endangers coral reefs by blocking sunlight, thereby inhibiting growth. | | Those areas at high risk include Coral Bay, Great Lameshur Bay, Hawknest Bay and Leinster Bay on St. John; Perseverance Bay, Fortuna Bay and Botany Bay on St. Thomas; and Buck Island, Turner Hole and North Side on St. Croix. Interestingly, the 2000 Coral Conservation Act established a grant for monitoring and management of coral reefs with emphasis on the East End Marine Park on St. Croix. The lion share of the funding has gone into the planning, design and establishment of the park. Funded entirely by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the park - reportedly the nation's first territorial park - is made up of 60 square miles of offshore coral reef and other marine habitat. "The vision is to expand territorywide, to have network of marine protected areas," according to a NOAA spokesman. Various studies, especially those done within the last year, have emphasized the need for immediate work to be done to save threatened corals located on all three islands. The need to allocate federal funds more proportionally to meet the documented threats by scientists and monitors is apparent. One NOAA official said that the increase even over the next seven years may not be enough to cover new responsibilities that the agency has been given. SOURCE - Virgin Islands Daily News |
