June 14, 2022
Once bursting with color and life, Bahamian coral reefs have taken heavy beatings since the highly contagious Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) first assaulted the country more than two years ago. The killer coral disease has spread across the 700-island archipelago like wildfire, leaving reef destruction on the scale of 200 million dead and dying corals in its wake.
“Imagine what our country would look like without coral reefs supporting our fisheries, our tourism sector, and our cultural way of life. Would it still feel like paradise?” said Dr. Krista Sherman, senior scientist at the Bahamas-based Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS). “I want you to imagine The Bahamas without coral reefs because this is the grim and stark reality that’s staring us in the face. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease is an environmental catastrophe the likes of which we’ve never seen before. And make no mistake, we’re going to lose the majority of our reef-building corals in less than five years unless we deal with this issue immediately and with full force.”
Dr. Sherman and her colleagues at PIMS, with support from the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and a public alert system, first began diagnosing disease-stricken Bahamian corals upon first sighting in Grand Bahama in 2019. Their latest findings processed just last week show SCTLD has now infected at least 175 square miles of the nation’s coral reefs to date and has already driven local extinctions of key reef-building species. Most recently, PIMS discovered SCTLD in the northern Exumas, leading scientists to worry about the fate of the world’s oldest land and sea park and flagship of the Bahamas National Protected Area System. Prime Minister Brave Davis’ constituency of San Salvador was also among the hardest hit places; every nearshore reef around the island is infected and three coral species that were once common are now locally extinct.
“In order to save the Exumas, San Salvador and other islands from total ecosystem collapse we must continue to treat these areas aggressively and undertake new research to better understand disease spread and prevention,” added Dr. Sherman, who is renowned for being the first-ever Bahamian woman to receive her doctorate degree in marine biology. “With no end in sight for the underwater pandemic, it will take years of dedicated efforts, public-private partnerships, and significant funding to fight back – and quite frankly, to save the country’s reefs.”
A marine biologist at the Perry Institute delivers life-saving antibiotic treatment to a pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) colony off Rose Island. This coral species has already been wiped out in San Salvador because of its high susceptibility to SCTLD, which is ripping through the country’s reefs.
The Bahamas missed a critical window to contain the fatal coral disease after it was first identified over two years ago. Despite the existence of an antibiotic-based treatment, a “permit crisis” – a backlog of pending research permits issued by the Department of Environmental Protection and Planning (DEPP) continues to sideline ocean scientists across the country for nearly two years. This earlier government work stoppage allowed the coral disease to spread to eight major islands: New Providence and Rose Island, Abaco, Grand Bahama, San Salvador, Long Island, Eleuthera, Exumas and the Berry Islands. After mounting pressure from an alliance of local conservation organizations and a widely covered March 2022 news conference, however, DEPP finally issued a temporary yet highly restrictive research permit mid-March 2022. This allowed PIMS a short window to survey and treat corals between March and May 2022. Paperwork was recently renewed for another 105 days because of Cabinet’s direct support, allowing scientists to keep fighting the disease but leaving them gravely concerned about the future of Bahamian coral reefs and other natural assets such as sustainably certified fisheries in the absence of basic research permits.
Eric Carey, Executive Director of The Bahamas National Trust, and longtime leading voice for nature in The Bahamas recalled the reasons for the March press conference, most of which remain today: “Back in March we had to alert the public of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, a menace destroying our coral reefs – our very way of life. Now, just three months later, Dr. Sherman and her colleagues at PIMS report that this coral disease is even worse than we could have thought. The reality is the government needs to issue a large number of science research and restoration permits, fast, and now. Our country cannot afford to continue losing our natural resources, much less scientific grant funding and tourism jobs, due to bureaucratic inaction. Those well-regarded NGOs seeking to research, treat and restore coral reefs, mangroves, and other ecosystems must be allowed to work!”
“The permit delay has been confusing and heartbreaking,” concluded Dr. Sherman. “It was devastating to sit idly by and watch the disease spread, to have the tools to stop it but not have the legal backing from the same government agency that exists to protect our environment. As a Bahamian scientist, I am grateful for Cabinet’s leadership in securing this single SCTLD permit but continue to implore DEPP to act now and release a trove of temporary permits so important for environmental management in our country.”
The perplexing year-long permit delay on any number of research permits came very badly timed for the fight against this devastating coral disease, putting the effort at least a year behind. The Perry Institute for Marine Science, a founding member of the government’s own SCTLD Task Force, signed a multi-year contract in 2021 with a separate government department, The Bahamas Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The contract explicitly tasks PIMS to assess, treat and do vital genetic research necessary to better understand and combat SCTLD with emergent technologies in order to develop even better treatments – the same approach as in human health. With today’s active DEPP permit, the team of scientists are allowed to spot and treat the disease, but still haven’t been able to fulfill many of their obligations to DMR in terms of scaling their efforts and are eager to do so.
“It’s been a tough couple of years with no access to the basic permits needed to do our jobs. Imagine if the government told you you couldn’t work, especially when you’re fighting something as bad as COVID underwater?” said Meghyn Fountain, a coral reef research technician at PIMS who is personally on the front lines of treating the disease. “It is important that we thank the government for the permit we now do have — those of us doing this work day-to-day are extremely hopeful for reduced restrictions and more reasonable timeframes with each renewal so that we can co-create a long term solution together with both the public and private sector.”
Racing against the clock, PIMS has surveyed over 175 sites for SCTLD across more than 500 miles of reef tract to date. Now, environmentalists and even corporations across The Bahamas are urging the government to extend the timeline of their research permits to reflect the long-term severity of the crisis at hand and to embrace proactive solutions to staving off a mass extinction event – one already underway according to Dr. Sherman. One solution currently awaiting Cabinet action is the creation of an on-land coral rescue facility – many call this a “coral gene bank” or even a “coral ark” – the last best chance at saving particularly vulnerable species from extinction. Species like pillar coral, maze coral, and smooth flower coral, are already all but lost in The Bahamas due to SCTLD; the few that remain can be saved by bringing them on-land to live and reproduce, and be housed under scientific aquarium conditions, meticulously minded by experts like those of the Perry Institute.
“Preventing species extinctions and total ecosystem collapse is our top priority,” said Dr. Craig Dahlgren, Executive Director of PIMS and internationally renowned coral reef expert. “Part of our long-term strategy is to move rare and vulnerable wild coral colonies to a biosecure land-based aquarium where we can grow and shelter them from the devastating impacts of SCTLD.” Restrictions on sampling corals, he shared, is also hampering scientific efforts to collaborate with other institutions and discover new cures. “If we can’t take samples of the disease, we can’t find a cure. It’s as simple as that.”
PIMS has fundraised about three quarters of a million dollars to establish a coral gene bank at one of Nassau’s most sophisticated scientific aquariums with operating agreements now in place. The group has also secured strong donor interest and ongoing grants to scale up the fight against the coral pandemic both in-sea and on-land. In anticipation of ongoing permits on at least this matter, PIMS is eager to partner with the government, the University of The Bahamas, the Cape Eleuthera Institute, BNT, and many other groups to scale up the current “battle” to a full fledged “war” against SCTLD. “At this point the future of The Bahamas’ coral reefs lie with the government, and their willingness to issue life-saving environmental permits and the creation of the biosecure land-based ‘coral ark’,” explained Dr. Dahlgren, recently named a local Conservation Champion for Natural History by BNT. “We hope they put the health of our oceans first.”
Map depicting the spread of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease throughout The Bahamas. Red circles indicate where the disease has been confirmed and surveyed, while green circles indicate where the Perry Institute has deployed teams to treat infected corals since the government first sanctioned their work in March.
Dr. Krista Sherman, a senior scientist with The Bahamas-based Perry Institute for Marine Science, is urging the government to allow her organization and its partners to launch an on-land coral rescue facility to save species on the verge of extinction because of SCTLD.