WITH the celebration of World Ocean’s Day on Friday, Our Habitat thought it timely to look at coral reefs, and their overall value to people and ocean-bound organisms.

Corals reefs are found in warm tropical and subtropical seas. They are rich in life, providing a habitat for a large variety of other marine forms. It may in fact support more than 3,000 species of corals, fish and shellfish.

They perform a range of functions, including not only the provision of shelter for fish and other ocean-bound organisms, but also:

. the provision of food to such organisms;

. the building of reefs; and

. the production of medicines to treat a variety of ailments.

Caribbean coral reefs

There are three basic types of coral reefs in the region, namely: fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls.

Fringing reefs are coral reefs that grow in shallow waters and border the coast closely or are separated from it by a narrow stretch of water. They consist of several zones characterised by their depth, the structure of the reef, and its plant and animal communities.

Barrier reefs are reefs that are separated from land by a lagoon. They grow alongside the coast and are large and continuous. They include regions of coral formation that include the zones found in fringing reefs along with patch reefs (small reefs), back reefs (the shoreward side of the reef), as well as bank reefs (reefs that occur on deep bottom irregularities).

Atolls, meanwhile, develop at or near the surface of the sea when islands surrounded by reefs subside. They separate a central lagoon and are circular. There are two types of atolls: deep sea atolls that rise from deep sea and those found on the continental shelf.

VALUE

1. Food

Globally, one-fifth of all animal protein consumed by humans comes from marine environments. In the developing world, coral reefs contribute about one-quarter of the total fish catch, providing food, according to one estimate, for one billion people in Asia alone.

“If properly managed, reefs can yield, on average, 15 tons of fish and other seafood per square kilometre per year. However, in many areas of the world, fishers are depleting this resource through over-exploitation and destructive fishing practices,” notes the UN Atlas of the Ocean website.

“According to a World Bank estimate, Indonesia forfeits more than $10 million a year in lost productivity, coastal protection, and other benefits through large-scale poison fishing alone. Through careful management, these reefs could support a $320-million industry, employing 10,000 Indonesian fishers,” it added.

2. Medicine

Scientists are increasingly turning to the oceans in search of new cures for bacterial and other diseases. “Coral reef species offer particular promise because of the array of chemicals produced by many of these organisms for self-protection,” is the information from UN Atlas.

“This potential has only begun to be explored. Corals are already being used for bone grafts, and chemicals found within several species appear useful for treating viruses. Chemicals within reef-associated species may offer new treatments for leukemia, skin cancer, and other tumours.”

3. Recreation

There are precious few tourists who do not enjoy the beauty of coral reefs and who would perhaps spend their last dollar to go snorkeling, scuba divers in the Caribbean to behold coral reefs in all their majesty.

4. Coastal protection

Coral reefs buffer adjacent shorelines from wave action and the impact of storms.

“The benefits from this protection are widespread, and range from maintenance of highly productive mangrove fisheries and wetlands to supporting local economies built around ports and harbours, where, as is often the case in the tropics, these are sheltered by nearby reefs,” UN Atlas notes. “Globally, we estimate almost half a billion people live within 100 kilometres of a coral reef, benefiting from the production and protection these ecosystems provide.”

Sources: www.uvi.edu; www.environment.nelson.com; www.oceansatlas.com/ glossary.html; and

www.oceansatlas.org