By Julia Pyper and ClimateWire, Source: Scientific American
Seabass

The next time Caribbean snorkelers peer down into the water, there may not be much for them to see, new research finds.

Due to local pressures such as overfishing and excessive coastal pollution, coral cover in the Caribbean has declined by more than 50 percent since the 1970s, according to a comprehensive study released today by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP).

Unless governments promptly implement measures to mitigate the threats posed by fisheries, tourism and coastal development, “Caribbean coral reefs and their associated resources will virtually disappear within just a few decades,” the authors write.

Read more at: Scientific American