London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Deadly coral disease nearing the BVI waters

Deadly coral disease nearing the BVI waters

The Association of Reef Keepers will be hosting an awareness initiative on Saturday, March 7, on the growing issue of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) which is nearing the British Virgin Islands.

According to the International Coral Reef Initiative website, SCTLD is a new lethal disease which affects more than 20 species of corals, especially the brain, pillar, star and starlet corals. The cause of the disease is yet to be determined, but scientists have proven that it spreads quickly causing high coral mortality.

Managing Director for the Association of Reef Keepers Dr Shannon Gore told BVI News that the disease has now spread to neighbouring islands in the region, including St Martin, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St Thomas.


Disease could affect the BVI’s Blue Economy goals

She said the initiative is geared towards informing maritime users on the disease and how they can assist with helping to prevent its spread should it reach the territory.

“We’ve been working with Florida but also with St Thomas and Puerto Rico and I’ve been trying to get the word out here and [find out] if there is a treatment for it because it is eventually going to show up here. We just need people to be aware of it so that if somebody sees something, then we can go out and treat it before it spreads and wipes out everything here because we rely so much on our reefs,” Dr Gore stated.

She added: “It is going to end up killing everything here if we don’t do some kind of intervention. So, it is very important especially as the BVI moves into the ‘blue economy’ since if we don’t have the resources, we’re never going to have a blue economy.”


Origin of Disease

Dr Gore also revealed the origin of the disease, stating that it first was discovered off the shores of Florida, approximated six years ago.

She said: “back in 2014 a new coral disease started showing up off of Miami when they were dredging off the port of Miami, and scientist there was like we need to do something about this but it was kept very quiet because they didn’t want to risk anything with the dredging operation which was going on.”

“But when it started spreading north and south, it just kept on going and the scientist and reef managers realised that this was major issue because it was killing about half of the stony coral species and because Florida rely on the reef for recreation and tourism, they started to get very concerned,” Dr Gore further explained.


Meeting Information

In the meantime, today’s (March 7) awareness session is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm at the Bamboushay Lounge on Tortola.

It will have special guests including Professor at the University of the Virgin Islands Dr Marilyn Brandt who specialises in marine and environmental studies, and Education and Outreach Coordinator from Department of Planning and Natural Resources (USVI) Kitty Edwards.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×