Megatourism, intensive fishing, and sewage, sewage, sewage

To help save the reefs of Jamaica, get active with these groups:

Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society

Reef Relief

Up to Here: Reef Ranger Toby Young struggles to save the reefs of Jamaica, where more than 90 percent are already dead or dying. Photo: Laara Matsen

A grim 90 percent of Jamaica's reefs are dead or dying; coral cover has plummeted to just 5 percent from a previous level of 50-70 percent as a result of human-caused stresses, hurricane damage, and disease among sea urchins, and the reefs have shown little recovery in the past decade. Oil-related pollution, sewage, industrial waste, and construction erosion are contributing factors, and four decades of overfishing have led to catches of largely juvenile fish; removing these algae-grazers from the reefs has led to increases in coral-choking algal growth.

While the government continues to drag its feet disastrously, some Jamaicans are getting serious about saving their reefs: Reef Relief members and the Negril Coral Reef Foundation have installed dozens of mooring buoys to protect the reefs of Negril, Jamaica, and the volunteer Reef Rangers patrol a proposed marine park area and even have the authority to ticket reef abusers.