Coral reefs face many threats from local sources, including: Physical damage or destruction from coastal development, dredging, quarrying, destructive fishing practices and gear, boat anchors and groundings, and recreational misuse (touching or removing corals).

Threats

• Climate change. Climate change is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef, threatening its very existence.
• Water quality. Increasing sediment, nutrients and contaminants, combined with rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification are damaging the Reef.
• Crown of Thorns Starfish.
• Coastal development.

The Reef is highly vulnerable. In the past three decades, it has lost half its coral cover, pollution has caused deadly starfish outbreaks, and global warming has produced horrific coral bleaching. Coastal development also looms as a major threat.

Almost 95% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia are threatened. Indonesia has the largest area of threatened coral reefs, with fishing threats being the main stressor on coral reefs. More than 75% of the coral reefs in the Atlantic are threatened.

In many places, the loss of coral reefs would amount to an economic disaster, depriving fishermen of their main source of income, forcing people to find more expensive forms of protein and undermining the tourism industry.

A Future Without Corals Without corals and the ocean species that rely on them, the ecosystem crashes, and a seaweed-dominated ecosystem takes its place. Once coral reefs disappear, we will lose everything they provide, including marine biodiversity, productive fisheries and potential source of medicines.

As a result, over 50 percent of the world’s coral reefs have died in the last 30 years and up to 90 percent may die within the next century—very few pristine coral reefs still exist. The impact of our changing climate on coral reefs was manifested by the third global bleaching event in 2015/16.

But, the planet has already lost half of its coral reefs over the last three decades, and more than 90% of them might become extinct by 2050. Corals face a number of threats including overfishing, diseases, and pollution, while the biggest of them all is climate change.

Our coral reefs are disappearing Up to half of the world’s coral reefs have already been lost or severely damaged. And the negative development continues. Scientists predict that all corals will be threatened by 2050 and that 75 percent will face high to critical threat levels.