Marianas reefs “fair,” in decline

Nov 15, 2020

Coral reefs in the Northern Marianas received a “fair” score in a condition status report for U.S. coral reefs, released by NOAA and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The status report incorporates data on coral reef ecosystems from 2012 tot 2018. The overall, national score is also “fair,” and the report stresses coral reefs everywhere are at risk and in decline. Established by the Coral Reef Conservation Program, the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program developed the scoring system based on four indicators: coral and algae abundance, fish populations, climate influence, and human connections. The data indicate reefs and and the fish reefs support are most impacted near dense human population centers – likely due to pollution and water quality issues and fishing impacts. But even isolated reef systems are vulnerable to warming waters and other effects of global climate change.