Puerto Rico is in a level four coral bleaching alert due to the continuation of the maritime heat wave suffered by the waters surrounding the archipelago.
According to information on the Coral Reef Watch page, A level four alert means that there is a severe risk or over 50% mortality of multiple coral species in the identified area.
According to the map shared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The most affected area is the south of the island while the waters to the north are on alert level three.
“You can’t do much anymore. The damage is done. The problem is that if we as a country do not assume responsibilities for our part in addressing the issue of climate impact and look for mechanisms locally on how to handle the issue of adapting and being able to mitigate these impacts, there is not much progress.”said Edwin Hernández Delgado, a marine ecologist who studies bleaching.
Along these lines, the scientist recommended developing a massive reforestation plan, creating “greener” cities, implementing better garbage and recycling management mechanisms, reducing harmful waste, among others.
“We need a series of actions that can yield multiple benefits and this issue of water, food security… of making the treatment of used water more efficient, creating greener and cleaner cities and managing garbage are small things “Maybe in isolation we don’t see them in the context of protecting coastal resources, but when you look at them holistically, we need to do all of these things to minimize other environmental stressors that could magnify the effect of temperature,” he urged. Hernandez Delgado.
1/11 | To the rescue of our corals. Nilda Jiménez, coordinator of the DRNA Protected Species Program, navigates the boat to one of the reefs where they carry out the coral surveillance and monitoring project. – RICARDO ARDUENGO
For the ecologist, maintaining the country’s coasts, including the dunes, mangroves and other “lines of natural defenses against storm surges and hurricanes” will buy time to avoid an impact on several of the island’s economies such as fishing and tourism.
Coral bleaching is the moment of vulnerability that this organism reaches after the algae that cover it generate high levels of toxicity by not being able to process – through photosynthesis – the excess heat and sunlight they receive. As a natural mechanism against the toxic component, the corals expel the algae, which are what give them their color in stable conditions, and their skeleton is exposed, which is why they look white.
Since 2023, scientists have warned about the high level of heat in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and its devastating effects on the coral reefs that surround Puerto Rico.
It should be noted that whitening is not synonymous with death. “The problem is that – if three, four or six weeks pass under these conditions – the coral, since its nutrition and oxygenation comes from algae, stops its growth, significantly decreases the ability to acquire nutrients and oxygenation, and that is when is affected,” Hernández Delgado explained to this medium at that time.
An investigation that Estudios Técnicos conducted in 2007, at the request of the DRNA, showed that the reefs and associated natural environments provided an estimated value of $1,852 million annually for the east coast alone, a figure that would be multiplied if extrapolated to the entire archipelago. , including systems in the southwest, such as those found off the coasts of Guánica, La Parguera and Joyuda, in Cabo Rojo. The estimate made by Technical Studies – without taking into account factors such as inflation – is the equivalent of 15% of the budget that the central government has today.