Caribbean Reefs are Under Bleaching Watch Due to Rising Temperatures

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) Monday warned that with the increase in temperatures in the region, the outlook for the coming months is not promising for the Caribbean’s reefs as widespread bleaching conditions are expected.

In its latest issue of the Caribbean Coral Reef Watch, CIMH, said that the entire region is currently under bleaching watch or warning conditions.

It said parts of Florida, Northern Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago have been experiencing Alert Level 1 conditions and that waters in the region continue to warm “entering what are considered the warmest months of the year, in September and October”.

“The bleaching alert and outlook for the Caribbean indicates that extensive areas of the region will be under Alert Level 1 during October and November, persisting into December in some areas. Bleaching may be expected throughout the region,” CIMH said.

Coral bleaching can be triggered and sustained under various environmental stresses. Increases in warming ocean temperatures stress tropical corals; the hotter water temperatures become, the more stress corals experience.

When a coral bleaches, it is not dead; however, it is more susceptible to damage from other stressors, including disease outbreaks. Often, corals that are partially to totally bleached for long periods of time eventually die, causing dramatic long-term ecological and socio-economic impacts, including loss of reef-building corals, and changes in benthic habitat and in fish populations on the reef.

Experts warn that even under favorable conditions, it can take decades for severely bleached reefs to fully recover.