Aric Bickel, who works with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s coral reef management program with DEQ, said periods of increased water temperature can cause incidents of coral bleaching or coral die-off.
“The last large coral bleaching event that we had here on Saipan was in 2001, where we lost 60-70 percent of certain back reef coral species namely staghorn coral species,” Bickel said.
Smaller coral bleaching events were also monitored in 2005 and 2007, but the largest one was in 2001, he added.
He said they are working on identifying areas at risk so they can protect these areas.
Guam has been included in the Current Operational Coral Bleaching Hot Spots for the year 2010, specifically from Jan. to March based on the the NOAA Web site.
In September last year, the participation of the community was sought after the CNMI was placed on the coral bleaching watch due to rising sea temperatures.
When a coral bleaching incident occurs, the corals lose their color and turn white. Once this happens, it may be difficult for the corals to recover and it may even result in their death.
Bickel said for the past five years, the CNMI has seen different levels of bleaching.
He said as climate change continues to happen, more studies are needed to monitor the health of the reefs.
The Coastal Resource Management Office is urging the public to report anything that looks like coral bleaching.
A downloadable form may be found from the CNMI Coral Reef Initiative Web site at http://www.cnmicoralreef.net/biosearch/biosearch.htm.
