The commercial cultivation of algae — used as a binder and fat substitute in ice cream and other foods — has led to the spread of two kinds of seaweed that are smothering coral reefs in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other parts of the Pacific. Ten countries in the Pacific have had the two varieties introduced, but fluctuating demand and lax cultivation have allowed the seaweeds to infest reefs in Tonga, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, and other places, where they invade the habitat of reef fish and kill the coral, threatening the livelihoods of subsistence fishermen. Meanwhile, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that nearly half of the coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. are in poor or fair condition, largely because of warming ocean waters. The report also said that roughly half of the Caribbean’s corals have been badly damaged or destroyed by rising sea temperatures.
Spread of Algae Farming Takes a Toll on Coral Reefs in Pacific
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long