Damage to Coral Reefs Threatens Tourism
31 October 2006
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Tourists spend billions of dollars each year on hotels and tours to experience the marine habitats in areas including the Caribbean, Australia and the Pacific islands.
But that money could dry up, as record amounts of coral have died off in the Caribbean and Pacific from pollution, overfishing and rising sea temperatures since the late 1990s, according to scientists at the biannual meeting of the multinational Coral Reef Task Force.
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Studies show greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels are increasing the ocean’s acidity, making it harder for coral to grow and reproduce.
Nearly 500 million people depend on coral reefs for tourism income and coastal protection, and about 30 million of those rely on coral reefs for their food, according to a 2004 report on the status of coral reefs worldwide commissioned by the Australian government.
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Australia’s government has banned fishing along a third of the Great Barrier Reef, which generates $3.9 billion in annual tourism revenue. The measure has helped the world’s largest reef bounce back from abnormally warm seas in 1998 and 2002, when more then half the reef was damaged and 5 percent died, Skeat said.
Click here to see the AP’s Five Photos Chronicle Coral Reef Death
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