Unprecedented Bleaching and Destruction of Coral Reefs Reported

Abstract

[evdate 1998-11-19] For immediate release 12 November 1998

UNPRECEDENTED BLEACHING AND DESTRUCTION OF CORAL REEFS REPORTED

Coral reefs around the world have been badly damaged by an unprecedented bleaching and die-off in 1998, says HKUST marine biologist Dr Gregor Hodgson, coordinator of the annual Reef Check Global Survey.

This has been the hottest year ever recorded, and entire reefs in dozens of countries throughout the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian oceans have been decimated by high seawater temperatures and solar radiation. Australia掇 Great Barrier Reef has been damaged, and numerous other tourism-dependent countries have seen many of their colorful reefs turn white and die due to "heatstroke". Huge individual coral colonies, many estimated to be 700 to 1,000 years old, have been killed.

The shocking results of the Reef Check 98 global survey娗nd possible causes of the destruction, including global warming庪ill be detailed at a press conference at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Thursday, 19 November.

In 1997, HKUST made history when its Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development organized the first global survey of coral reefs in 31 countries and territories. The survey was undertaken by teams of volunteer recreational divers, trained and led by professional marine biologists. The survey methods were specifically designed to gather sufficient information to judge the health of coral reef ecosystems anywhere in the world.

The 1998 survey grew to include about 40 countries and territories. As in 1997, the results confirm that overfishing has reduced populations of high-value reef fish and shellfish such as grouper and lobster to near-extinction on a global scale, resulting in very high market prices. Reef damage in Southeast Asia can be further linked to high demand for live seafood in Hong Kong, and to seafood industry support for cyanide fishing in remote areas.

Globally, the hundreds of Reef Check team members form an international network, linked by the Internet, whose goal is to promote sustainable management of coral reefs. Locally, the results of the surveys provide the tools needed for communities, from villages in Indonesia to Belize, to assess the health of their reefs. This is the first step in "community-based management", a method to ensure that coral reefs can continue to provide a sustainable source of food, coastal protection, tourism resources, and irreplaceable pharmaceutical compounds for the benefit of local communities and the world.

Details of the press conference are as follows:

Date:19 November 1998 (Thursday) Time:3 pm Venue:Foyer, 7/F (Lifts 13{????}5) Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon

Note to Editors: Further information on Reef Check 98 can be found on the World Wide Web at http www.ust.hk/~webrc/ReefCheck/reef.html. Please direct inquiries to Keith Kei, assistant coordinator of Reef Check 98, at 2358-6907, or Jacky Tsang of the Public Affairs Office at 2358-6306, or email pamedia@ust.hk.