Jackson2013-Status and Trendsof Caribbean Coral Reefs

Fig. 12.3 Average density of
Diadema antillarum, and biomass
of parrotfishes and groupers for
two locations in Curaçao: Northwest
(north of Kaap St. Marie) (A & C)
and Southwest (south of Lighthouse
Bullenbaai) (B &D). Dotted line
represents the average of Caribbean
data collected for this report;
solid lines are drawn through data
presented. (Codes same as in Table
12.1 and Figure 12.1)
Timeline
1916: Start of oil refinery on Curaçao
1950s: Synthetic fishing lines introduced
1955: CARMABI Marine Biological Institute established
1960: Large fish are commonly seen
1971: Use of spear guns banned
1975: Harvesting corals banned
1976: Spearfishing and harvesting of corals banned
1980: Joined RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands
1983 White band disease wipes out Acropora cervicornis; Curaçao Marine Park established but not enforced;
mass mortality of Diadema
1986: Dumping of chemicals and trash in oceans banned
1988: Tropical Storm Joan
1990s: Coral cover at deep reefs started to decline
1996: Catching sea turtles and disturbing nesting sites banned
1997: 30% of island legally designated as conservation habitat by the Curaçao Island Development Plan
1999: Hurricane Lenny
2007: Laws established to regulate marine activities, including coastal construction
2009: Hurricane Omar; ban on gill nets without permit; restrictions on fish and lobster fisheries; first lionfish
sighting; population reaches 140,000
2010 Tropical Storm Tomas; bleaching event (10-20% corals bleached); Netherlands Antilles cease to exist,
Curaçao became an independent country whilst remaining within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
2012 Official lionfish removals commence
2013 Designation of four RAMSAR areas
General Literature
Atsma G, Bosveld J (2006) Status of commercially important predatory reef fish on the reefs of Curaçao, Bonaire and
Aruba - a comparison with a 1984 study MSc Thesis: Radboud University Nijmegen.
1
Bak RPM (1975) Ecological aspects of the distribution of reef corals in the Netherlands Antilles. Bijdr Dierk 45: 181-190.
Bak RPM (1977) Coral reefs and their zonation in the Netherlands Antilles. Stud Geol 4 AAPG Tulsa: 3-16.
Bak RPM, Engel MS (1979) Distribution, abundance and survival of juvenile hermatypic corals (Scleractinia) and the
importance of life history strategies in the parent coral community. Marine Biology 54: 341-352.
STATUS AND TRENDS OF CARIBBEAN CORAL REEFS: 1969-2012
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