#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs in the Northern Caribbean and Atlantic Node of the GCRMN
and extend inshore across broad areas of the shelf. This shelf edge is 2150km long on the
north coast and 1816km on the south. Inshore patch reefs are dispersed in the western Gulf
of Guanahacabibes and Gulf of Batabanó, and the eastern Gulf of Ana María-Guacanayabo.
Dominican Republic
It has approximately 1,576km of coast including the islands of Saona, Catalina, Beata and
the Cayos Siete Hermanos. The coast is characterized by a combination of coralline cliffs
and escarpments, rivers, estuaries, beaches and marshlands often associated with lagoons.
Reefs border approximately 166km of the coast and mangroves 268km. The continental
shelf is generally narrow with a mean width of 7.5km and covers an area of 8,130km 2 . The
largest expanse of reef (64.2km) is along the north coast in the Montecristi region to the
northwest. Most of the coral reefs are fringing reefs, but there are also two barrier reefs,
numerous patch reefs, and four large offshore banks. In the eastern and northwestern
coasts, broad coastal shallow platforms with barrier reefs are found, while in other places,
terrigeneous sediments produce high turbidity that prevents reefs from forming.
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