(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

The charms of the Caribbean - St. Croix, Jamaica and hundreds of islands, some small, some island nations - have long called to those of us who love warm breezes, crystal clear turquoise waters, gracious and friendly folks and laid-back lifestyles.

The Caribbean is my backyard of sorts - first growing up in Florida and then vacations from the wintry weather of the Northeast U.S. for decades - a playground for boating, golfing and simply watching waves lap the shores.

It is a special part of the world…and I guess I always thought it would be there…unchanged…forever. I found out recently that the Caribbean is changing…and not just construction trying to keep pace with those who want to visit and live there.

During the past two years as people worldwide have battled a pandemic virus…it turns out the Caribbean has been fighting a disease, as well…one that likely spreads through bacterium or virus…or perhaps some combination.

Scientists don’t know exactly what it is or how or why it spreads, but they do know the disease attacks and ultimately kills coral, the foundation for the ocean’s reefs. The oceans are a fragile ecosystem…already suffering from warming waters due to climate change and pollution from increasing populations.

The new disease is called Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease - SCTLD - and it first showed up in 2014 off the Miami, FL coast. The then-record Summer heat drove water temperatures in the Caribbean, Southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico much higher than normal.

Coral likes warm waters…but when it gets too hot...things happen. The warmer water stresses the coral, causing it to release a symbiotic algae - zooxanthellae - that normally help keep coral alive and well. The coral loses its colour…turning white…locals call it bleaching. The coral can recover from losing the algae and eventually regain its colour…unless it contracts disease when its immune system is weakened.

The coral reef off the Miami coast is just over a mile from the outflow of the Miami-Dade water treatment facility that serves millions of homes. Many suspect this outflow might be a contributing factor, though science hasn’t proven the link. What science knows is that five of the Summers since 2014 brought warmer than normal water temperatures to the Caribbean, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

SCTLD spreads fast…apparently riding the flows of ocean currents…attaching itself to both private boating and commercial shipping…attacking coral with compromised immune systems. Also, thousands of ships take on sea water for ballast one place and release it a thousand or more miles away.

Today, just seven years after being discovered, SCTLD is killing reefs from Cancun to Key West, from Jamaica to the Turks and Caicos Islands and from The Bahamas to St. Croix. All told, nearly two dozen species of coral have fallen prey to SCTLD.

It is more than alarming when you realize that what nature took hundreds of years to build…can be destroyed in a matter of weeks and months by this disease we know little about. You don’t have to be a scientist to understand that when ecosystems become unbalanced…not much good comes from it.

There have been some successes with antibiotic treatments of infected coral…which tends to support the thought that it might be bacteria since antibiotics don’t cure viral infections. Some researchers say the combination of bacteria and viruses could interact…producing diseases that are challenging to treat.

Scores of scientists throughout the region are trying to solve the mystery. The oceans are - as a researcher from the University of Florida characterized it…a giant “bath of viruses and bacteria.” As we’ve been reminded by the pandemic…our earth is a sort of Petri dish…always bubbling with things that - when mishandled - can harm us. There is - according to scientists already fighting SCTLD - a lot more to know…and time is the enemy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has captured and held hostage our attention for nearly two years. My father used to say, “It’s hard to worry about the depth of the moat when alligators are nipping at your behind.”

Life never seems to align conveniently…timed so that we solve one problem and move on to the next. The threats to our lives…our planet…build and overlap and often attack us in the most unexpected ways…and never at good times. But we can’t ignore this or other problems.

I’m grateful for those working day-to-day to save the coral. I hope they can solve this enigma. I’d like people who have never been to the Caribbean to experience the warm breezes, crystal clear turquoise waters, gracious and friendly folks and laid-back lifestyles that I have known.

Fortunately, we humans can walk and chew gum at the same time. It’s a good thing…these days we face challenges that are coming at us fast and furiously.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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