SCTLD Response must be a multi-prong approach at all levels. There is no clear-cut path to take when addressing SCTLD, each country along with local organizations must work together to find a best fit approach for their specific local, national, and regional context based on human and financial resources and response capacity and expertise.
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Monitoring and Action Plan
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first seen in Florida in 2014 and since, other locations in the Caribbean have identified similar signs of the disease on their reefs. As of August 1, 2019, the disease has been confirmed in the Caribbean countries and territories of Jamaica, Mexico, Sint Maarten, the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), the Turks and Caicos Islands and Belize. The disease is characterized by its high mortality rate. Affected coral colonies present lesions that rapidly expand outward and can ultimately kill all live tissue.