A new prospectus introducing the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) was released by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, Florida Sea Grant, and funded by NOAA’s Regional Collaboration Network, Southeast and Caribbean Region Team (SEACART).
It gives an overview of what stony coral tissue loss disease is, the impact it has on coral reef ecosystems, and what can be done. It provides an introduction to response frameworks at the US regional and national levels, and indications on how to prepare for and prevent the spread of SCTLD locally in the US as well as in other affected areas in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Pacific. The prospectus concludes by calling for large-scale, collaborative actions appropriate to the severity of the threat posed by SCTLD.
It serves as a useful communication tool to raise awareness on the deadly coral disease.