THE Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS) is calling for an action plan to address the issue of effluent flowing into the Negril River, again.

Nutrients are reportedly flowing into the sea from the Negril sewage ponds and the NCRPS believes that the Long Bay Beach, particularly the West End, should be closely monitored.

According to the agency’s scientific advisor, Dr Brian Lapointe, there is compelling evidence of a degradation of the coral reefs in Negril.

He said there has been an expansive bloom of algae over the last five years and of major significance is the detection of a plant called codium within the last three years, which is an indicator of sewage pollution.

“I think it is very important that a serious effort be mounted for monitoring the river and the beaches and reef areas,” said Lapointe.

He wants the plume of the river, that is the area deemed to be the point of pollution, monitored for coliform bacteria to ensure that these areas are safe for swimming.

A comprehensive monitoring programme, which was set up in 1998, he said, reveals that between 70 and 80 per cent of the reefs are covered by algae.

“The data that we have been gathering, dating back to ’98, has provided us with a long term monitoring data base for the South Negril River, so we have a lot of data showing the enrichment of the river due to sewage coming from the pond outfalls,” Lapointe told the Observer.

The NCRPS does DNA sequencing on the samples, allowing the agency to determine the source of the nitrogen.

“We have seen that the reefs that are influenced by the plume of the South Negril River show evidence, through their stable nitrogen isotopes, of increasing sewage impacts in the same time frame as we have seen the contamination of the rivers from the sewage outflows,” said Lapointe.