Elkhorn Coral Reef

Elkhorn and staghorn corals were once the dominant reef-building corals in the Caribbean.

Today, they are perilously close to extinction. And fish like parrotfish, which play a key function in providing suitable habitat for corals by grazing on algae around the reefs, are being dangerously overfished.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Stoplight Parrotfish

Sparisoma viride.

Coral reefs in the Caribbean survive partly through the habits of parrotfish, which graze on algae that would otherwise stunt the corals' growth.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Staghorn Coral Reef

Corals suffer from a variety of threats, including pollution, global warming and ocean acidification. A key threat to corals, however, continues to be overfishing and competition with algae.

The corals have declined by more than 90 percent since the 1970s.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Stoplight Parrotfish

Sparisoma viride.

Fish, especially parrotfish, which graze on algae around coral reefs, play a key function in providing suitable habitat for corals to settle and build those reefs.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Elkhorn Coral

In 2006, elkhorn and staghorn corals were protected under the Endangered Species Act in response to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity.

In 2012, Earthjustice, representing CBD, filed a lawsuit seeking greater protections from fishing for threatened coral reefs in the Caribbean.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Rainbow Parrotfish

Scarus guacamaia.

The lawsuit asserts that the National Marine Fisheries Service ignored science showing that parrotfish and other grazing fish play a key role in promoting the health of coral reefs; the government’s authorization of targeted fishing for parrotfish poses a risk to elkhorn and staghorn corals.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Staghorn Coral

According to the lawsuit, the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act by finding that the targeted fishing for parrotfish would not jeopardize already imperiled corals or “adversely modify,” (i.e. damage) their critical habitat.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Midnight Parrotfish

Scarus coelestinus.

Fish populations in the Caribbean have been overfished, including the parrotfish that are the subject of this lawsuit.

Managing the overfishing of parrotfish will help corals recover and become more resilient to other threats, including global warming and ocean acidification.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Princess Parrotfish

Scarus taeniopterus

Parrotfish, which graze on algae around coral reefs, play a key function in providing suitable habitat for corals to settle and build Caribbean reefs.

Excessive algal growth threatens the health of Caribbean reefs, choking out corals and degrading the habitat that other reef creatures—such as fish, sea turtles and lobsters—depend on.

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?

Elkhorn Coral Reef

“Restoring healthy populations of elkhorn and staghorn coral is critical to restoring the health of Caribbean reefs as a whole,” said Andrea Treece, an attorney with Earthjustice.

“These corals provide shelter, nursery grounds, and hunting grounds for an incredible array of fish, lobsters, sea turtles and other species. Without better protection, we risk losing the entire reef community.”

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• Case: Protecting Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing
• Feature: Dying Reefs: Can our oceans pass the acid test?
• Down to Earth Audio Interview: Attorney Andrea Treece on Restoring the Ocean Food Web