This bulletin is the first quarterly bulletin provided by the Florida Dept of Environmental Protection – Coral Reef Conservation Program and Coral Reef Conservation Program. These bulletins will be Florida’s primary tool for communication to the wider community and will provide high-level updates on the SCTLD outbreak and response efforts with a focus on Florida…. Read more »
Conservation strategy for healthy reefs in Cozumel The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) in coordination with the three government orders, and in close alliance with the Cozumel Reef National Park’s Advisory Council, will maintain a temporary and partial suspension of activities to tourism and recreation of the Protected Natural Area (ANP), starting at the “Palancar” reef and… Read more »
Marine Safety Information OES-MSIB Number: 07-19 Bulletin Ballast Water Best Management Practices to Reduce the Likelihood of Transporting Pathogens That May Spread Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a lethal disease that rapidly destroys the soft tissue of many different species of coral. The disease first appeared off the… Read more »
Judy Lang, AGRRA scientist, joined experts from around the Caribbean region at a workshop in Key West, Florida, August 1-2, 2019 to share information on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. During the workshop, AGRRA’s Coral Disease Outbreak portal was presented to show how to record observations of the disease and submit survey information. The following… Read more »
Story published in ScienceNews by Cassie Martin, July 9, 2019 Off St. Thomas, the disease is moving faster and killing more corals than any disease before. Divers monitoring coral reefs off St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January noticed something alarming: Big white lesions were eating into the colorful tissues of hundreds of… Read more »
Update of SCTLD In Southeast Florida, May 22, 2019. Submitted by Brian Walker, Nova Southeastern University, Florida Over the last few weeks in Southeast Florida, we may be seeing the SCTLD disease on Montastraea cavernosa (MCAV) spreading more rapidly than before, and now large Orbicella are getting reinfections and needing more re-treatments. We have many firebreak margins with amoxicillin treatments… Read more »
On May 8 at 11 a.m. EST, Reef Resilience Network is hosting a webinar – Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease: Lessons Learned & Resources from Florida. Registration is required. Florida’s corals reefs have been experiencing devastating effects of a multi-year outbreak of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). This disease has now been observed and… Read more »
Published in TheScientist, Carolyn Wilke, April 4, 2019 Stony coral tissue loss disease has already affected 80 percent of Florida’s coastal reef system. Now, a huge team of responders is working to slow its spread and prepare for future restoration efforts. A brutal disease is ravaging Florida’s reefs. Stony coral tissue loss disease first cropped… Read more »
Glimmers of Hope Story published in Alert Diver Online . Written by Andrew Bruckner, Research coordinator for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Through an unprecedented collaborative effort, a dedicated response to stony coral tissue loss disease is underway within the Florida Reef Tract. By advancing understanding of the disease and developing options to manage… Read more »
Authors: Iker Irazabal, Reef Check Dominican Republic and Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez, Maguá Ecological Foundation, Sosúa, Dominican Republic. This report documents the first known instance of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) in the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The disease, which currently affects a number of territories in the Caribbean, appears to be… Read more »