As a result of those reef conditions, Cozumel ended up being popular in the diving community as a “must-see” dive area..
In 2021 after the COVID-19 quarantine duration, I decided to get scuba accredited and finish my open water dives in Cozumel. My very first open water dive was behind my hotel on the Villa Blanca Reef, less than one mile away from the cruise ship docks. I was so ecstatic to jump in the water for the very first time in Cozumel to finally see what my daddy had been explaining for many years, however when I reached the sandy bottom it was barren and what little coral was left was covered in algae.
This story belongs to a series developed to introduce the point of views of alumni from the National Geographic Society and The Nature Conservancys international youth externship program. Each visitor author is an emerging leader in preservation and storytelling.
My father, the individual who presented me to diving, often informs me stories of his adventures as a young dive master in the 1990s and never ever stops working to point out that his all-time favorite diving location was Cozumel. My youth was filled with stories about its wonder: times when he would leap in the water and the only thing he could see in front of him was the silvery shine from the large schools of fish. The very first time my daddy saw a hammerhead shark was diving at Santa Rosa Wall where he saw hundreds of them education.
Cozumel, Mexico is a small island on the Eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula with an overall population of 88,000. The island is part of the higher Mesoamerican Barrier Reef system and has a few of the most varied reefs in the world with over 35 endemic species of coral.
Why This Project?
Diving made me fall for the ocean and instilled in me a drive to protect it. Motivated by Cozumel, I chose to request an ocean conservation externship with the National Geographic Society and The Nature Conservancy in the summer season of 2023. The primary focus of the externship was a research study task of our choosing. I chose Cozumels reefs and started having discussions with my dive masters on what was triggering reef destruction. It was through these discussions with locals that I was able to discover the increase in volume of cruise liner and ultimately chose to focus my research study on the effects of the cruise market on Cozumels reefs.
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Whats the Problem?
There are three main impacts that travel ships have on the reef: the dumping of without treatment sewage, the spread of coral illness, and direct damage..
Another problem triggered by cruise liner is the spread of coral diseases..
Cruise Liner Impacts on Coral Reefs.
Over 80% of Cozumels coral population has actually passed away in the last 40 years as an outcome of traveler development on the island, particularly cruise development. Due to its close distance to the resort town of Cancun, Cozumel started constructing its first cruise pier in the early 1970s. Cozumel now has three cruise piers, the International Pier, Punta Langosta, and Puerta Maya, and has become the largest cruise location in the Western Caribbean with near 5 million visitors yearly..
In October 2018, a break out of SCTLD brought by a cruise liner ballast water from Florida triggered 60% loss of Cozumels difficult corals in one year. SCTLD is thought to be brought on by bacterial pathogens in the water column that produce sores on tough corals filled with alpha-toxins eventually killing coral cells. The existence of SCTLD completely alters the microbial community as germs levels remain high, leaving corals susceptible as they continue to combat the illness. This indicates that corals that do not look ill may still be at higher danger of death or collapse as they are eradicating greater levels of germs in the water column.
Cruise ships have a ballast tank to promote hydrostatic stability of the ship. Many Caribbean cruises from the US start in Florida where there is Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) and White Band Disease.
To address the spread of coral diseases, ballast management protocols must be embraced by all cruise lines. Key procedures include the prohibition of event ballast water in “location” zones of coral disease, rinsing of the anchor and anchor chain during every retrieval, carrying out ballast exchange a minimum of 200 nautical miles away from land, and keeping records of all ballast details to report at all ports. In addition, the financing of local coral repair programs assists fuel research study for innovations intended at limiting the spread of coral diseases and the repopulation of threatened coral populations.
Dictyota (visualized) and Lobphora are the primary macroalgaes in Cozumel. © Sophie Dellinger.
Cozumel needs to focus on decreasing its FMA cover through enhancing water quality around the island. Decreasing levels of nutrients in the water can be done through the installation of port reception facilities (PRFs). PRFs collect sewage and marine litter for correct treatment at water treatment centers. Cozumel can get funding through the International Maritime Organizations Technical Cooperation Fund to set up IMO-approved PRFs. After the setup of PRFs, Cozumel should follow the Baltic Sea Model. In 2019, the IMO banned all cruise ships from dumping raw sewage within 12 nautical miles of shore in the Baltic Sea in order to enhance water quality. All ships are required to make use of PRFs or discard sewage further from shore.
In 2020, the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources authorized a proposal for the building and construction of a 4th cruise pier in Cozumel regardless of the fact that present cruise piers are only reaching 54% of their total capacity. The 4th cruise pier is forecasted to be developed on a UNESCO heritage site where regional advocacy groups who have actually surveyed the area discovered 20 various species of coral, including 2 on the critically endangered list. The building and construction of the 4th pier is mainly feared by locals who have actually seen how the existing rate of cruise activity has actually currently triggered an eco-friendly imbalance for reef..
While Cozumels reefs are dealing with a substantial threat with the growing appeal of cruise tourist in the Caribbean, carrying out policies concentrated on lessening the impacts of cruise ships may supply some relief for coral..
Anchors frequently smash hard corals, leading to a shift from live corals to macroalgal supremacy. The effects of cruise ships on coral reefs have left Cozumels remaining coral populations vulnerable.
Recovery and remediation are possible. Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program (CCRRP) has restored over 10,000 corals to the Villa Blanca Reef and has developed antibiotic pastes to limit the spread of SCTLD.
Lastly, Cozumel requires to limit the quantity of cruise liner docking at their ports if they wish to maintain the shallow reefs surrounding their island. Decreasing the volume of ships being available in and using marine spatial planning (MSP) to develop anchoring courses for ships that avoid damaging coral nests should help mitigate a few of the damage being done to the reefs.
In October 2018, an outbreak of SCTLD brought by a cruise ship ballast water from Florida triggered 60% loss of Cozumels hard corals in one year. SCTLD is believed to be triggered by bacterial pathogens in the water column that produce lesions on tough corals filled with alpha-toxins eventually killing coral cells. Anchors frequently smash hard corals, leading to a shift from live corals to macroalgal domination. The effects of cruise ships on coral reefs have actually left Cozumels staying coral populations vulnerable. Furthermore, the financing of local coral restoration programs helps fuel research study for technologies intended at restricting the spread of coral diseases and the repopulation of threatened coral populations.
Discover the preservation work of other externs from Colombia, the Maldives, and the United States in Nature Conservancy Magazine.
Numerous cruise ships do not have actually advanced wastewater treatment systems and instead discard their gray water and unattended sewage directly into the ocean. Without treatment sewage is high in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. An imbalance in the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus starts a procedure called water eutrophication, or an excess of algal and plant development. A boost in fleshy macroalgae (FMA) is among the primary offenders for coral death in Cozumel..
By raising awareness through my externship project, I hope to reach tourists who travel to the Caribbean to help them comprehend the impacts of cruise travel. I likewise hope that increased awareness on the water quality in Cozumel incentivizes the city board to approve a long-lasting water facilities improvement plan to start dealing with the core problem behind reef destruction in Cozumel.
Solutions.
Macroalgal supremacy starves coral of the sunshine required to continue growing its calcium carbonate skeleton. The 2022 AGRRA report reveals that Mexico has 24% FMA cover, considered a “critical” level, and would require a 77% reduction of FMA to be ranked “good” on the HRI. Water sampling done by CCRRP confirms that water quality around the island is bad, adding to decreasing coral populations.
Porites furcata (finger coral), a typical species of coral in Cozumel. © Sophie Dellinger.
Over 97% of coral populations around current cruise piers have actually passed away. In an Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) survey performed in 2022, just one dive site left in Cozumel was ranked as “extremely good” on the Healthy Reef Index (HRI). Over 71% of Mexicos total reefs are listed as remaining in vital or poor shape on the HRI..
