This is more bad news for marine biodiversity: in the Gulf of Thailand, a mysterious disease attacks the coral. Responsible for large yellow spots that cover entire sections of the reef and lead to their death due to a bacterium, is called yellow band disease.
Spotted for the first time in 2021, in the Thai province of Chonburi, this disease is now spreading rapidly, which worries local scientists and economic actors. What is the real risk to marine biodiversity, e Who is responsible ?
No treatment… yet
“I’ve never seen anything like this before”annoyed oceanologist Lalita Putchimafter diving off Samae San Island, southeast of Bangkok (the region is a popular spot for amateur divers). Scientists seem short-sighted in the face of the rapid spread of the diseasenamely the yellow-spotted bacterium, which had already been sighted in Florida in the 1990s.
The so-called “yellow bands” disease spreads very quickly and no cure has yet been discovered https://t.co/iDnn1PEFHD
— 20 Minutes (@20Minutes) December 28, 2022
Researchers are still trying to unravel the mystery of the disease while near Pattaya, another team of divers found traces of dead coral in an area of over 2 km². Currently, only the name of the bacterium causing the disease is known and no treatment is on the agendahence the concern of experts.
The scientific community asks improve the protection of coral reefsespecially in limit the discharge of waste water into the seaor in preventing tourists from touching the corals. The answer is already being organized in the field, with teams of environmental protection divers trying to collect diseased corals to take them to the laboratory and then analyze them. A first step to save what remains to be saved…
Is human activity still under discussion?
The problem is that Thai authorities are currently limiting searches: no major surgery can take place at this time, allowing the bacteria to thrive. Special funds could finally be allocated this year, but in the meantime, Volunteer divers help researchers locate destroyed coral reefsespecially taking pictures under the sea.
VIDEO: ‘Just Dies’
Yellow band disease, named after the color it turns corals before destroying them, is ravaging coral reefs in eastern Thailand
️ https://t.co/6IONkvYqiI pic.twitter.com/KhLJnYDe4j
— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 28, 2022
Experts are starting to think the impact of human activity on the arrival of this killer bacterium in Thailand. Could this be related to the overfishingto the pollution but also to sea water heatingwhich can weaken the structure of the coral.
The paradox lies in the fact that the presence of these corals is one of the precious assets which attract foreign tourists to the area, most often looking for paradisiacal beaches and turquoise waters. Of course, the local economy thrives on it, but questions need to be asked about the carbon footprint. In all cases, the destruction of coral will necessarily be catastrophic in the long runfor the economy of the region but also for marine biodiversity…
