Reefs in Trouble - But it's not too late!

This week has been the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium and I'm sure the threats to coral reefs have been on everyone's minds down in Florida, even as a new report was published online in Science Express on Thursday assessing coral status using IUCN data. The report concludes that fully one third (231 of 704) of hermatypic coral species with data available are threatened (IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered). Adding in the 141 near threatened species and over half are under pressure. A dramatic increase since 1998 when it was only 13 species as Threatened and 20 listed as Near Threatened.

Of course that analysis may seem a quite bleak, but Rick MacPherson has been bloggin the Symposium, and he want's to make sure the message from the symposium gets out:

Yes, coral reefs are in trouble. But it's not too late to make a difference. That's the consensus of coral reef scientists and conservations at this week's 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. It begins with spreading this message.

Be sure and grab one of the excellent banners from the Coral Reef Alliance and spread the word. (Notice on our sidebar that they have them with or WITHOUT the boney critters in the way!)