[Coral-List] Stony coral tissue loss disease news article

[Douglas Fenner]

My understanding is that the worry is that this disease may have been
transmitted around the Caribbean by ballast water.  If so, then it would be
easy for it to be taken in ballast water through the Panama canal by a
ship, into the Pacific.  The US has regulations on ballast water exchanges,
it has to be done well away from the coast.  I don't know about other
countries, and I imagine that enforcement may be difficult.  But I have no
expertise in that area.
     I only know of one very small case of a coral being moved from the
West Atlantic into the Pacific, that was a research project, and it was a
few skeletons that were presumed dead that were moved, and somehow some
live tissue survived and recovered.  So while not impossible, it seems
highly unlikely that would be a route for the disease to reach the
Pacific.  But there are no guarantees, and we get surprised by things
frequently these days.
   Cheers, Doug

On Thu, Jun 10, 2021 at 2:19 AM David Blakeway <
fathom5marineresearch at gmail.com> wrote:

> The concept of stony coral tissue loss disease entering the Pacific is
> worrying. And is probably feasible given the live coral trade (though I
> know most trade is from, not to, the Pacific).
> I hope the quarantine on live coral imports is up to scratch, does anybody
> know?
>
> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 10:40 PM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
>> This deadly coral disease is threatening more than just reefs
>>
>>
>> https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/deadly-coral-disease-threatening-more-080043405.html
>>
>> Cheers, Doug
>>
>> --
>> Douglas Fenner
>> Lynker Technologies, LLC, Contractor
>> NOAA Fisheries Service
>> Pacific Islands Regional Office
>> Honolulu
>> and:
>> Coral Reef Consulting
>> PO Box 997390
>> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799-6298  USA
>>
>> Slashing emissions by 2050 isn't enough.  We can bring down temperature
>> now.
>>
>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/climate-deadlines-super-pollutants-hfcs-methane/2021/04/15/acb8c612-9d7d-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html
>>
>> Humans have destroyed 97% of earth's ecosystems
>> (well, more like only 3% are fully intact)
>> https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1fH7DT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
>>
>> Study: One-third of plant and animal species could be gone in 50 years.
>> (but 2-4 times worse in tropics)
>> https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoa-soo021220.php
>> https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4211
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>