Problems Loom for Caribbean Coral Reefs

In fact, according to a report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), many Caribbean reefs are already in dire straights. 

The cause of the the desperate situation for the reefs is management which includes fishing regulations that keep the numbers of fish critical to the health of the reef up.  Another cause is climate change which has caused the temperature of the waters to rise, and most reef building organisms have a small range of tolerance for water temperature.  
If we can get some sensible regulations in place and enforce regulations, some reefs in other parts of the world have shown a great resilience in their return to health.  However, it is extremely

Photo by ThinkP. Creative Commons License.                                                                             difficult to get these things in order, and it may be too late for the reefs.  
Although the reefs in the 60s and 70s had "50-60% live coverage", they are comparing to other reefs today with only around 30% live coverage and considered "relatively intact", with the Caribbean reefs still looking grim with less than 10% live coverage.   I believe it is telling that we consider a reef that is 70% dead reflective of something relatively intact.   But however they measure it, things are looking very bleak for Caribbean reefs.
National Geographic's Christine Dell'Amore has an article about the report released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress going on in South Korea.