Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Learning Exchange – Florida, 2019

Photo © S. Frew

The Reef Resilience Network and The Nature Conservancy Latin American, Mexico, & North Central America Program sponsored manager Adrian Andrés Morales of the Centro Regional de Investigación Acuícola y Pesquera (Regional Fisheries Research Centers), Mexico to attend the MPAConnect Peer-to-Peer Learning Exchange: Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) for Caribbean Marine Natural Resource Managers. The learning exchange, held in Florida from August 1-2, 2019, included 34 participants from 17 countries and territories. It provided capacity-building support to Caribbean countries and territories currently affected by SCTLD or susceptible to the disease. The involvement of marine resource managers from across the Caribbean allowed for the wide dissemination of information about the disease and also served to establish a pan-Caribbean network of managers, mentors, and experts to help monitor, detect, and respond to SCTLD in the region. Already the network is playing a role in assisting members with technical assistance for coral disease identification, the interpretation of results of monitoring, sharing advice and contacts on treatment protocols, and guiding outreach to decision makers.

MPA Connect is a partnership between the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (NOAA CRCP), with funding from NOAA CRCP and the NFWF Coral Reef Conservation Fund.