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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Environment & Climate

Venezuela and FAO launch plan to curb invasive coral in Caribbean

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Venezuela and the FAO have launched a plan to control the spread of the invasive soft coral Unomia stolonifera in the Caribbean Sea.
  • The initiative, funded by the Global Environment Facility, involves deploying scientists to evaluate chemical and physical control mechanisms.
  • The coral, native to Indonesia, has spread rapidly over the past two decades, displacing native corals and altering marine ecosystems, posing a threat to biodiversity and fisheries.

Venezuela, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has initiated a technical action plan to curb the expansion of the invasive soft coral, Unomia stolonifera, in the Caribbean Sea. This coordinated effort aims to protect Venezuela's coastal areas from the detrimental effects of the alien species.

The project, titled "Strengthening management to combat the threats of invasive aquatic species in Venezuela," is financially supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Scientists and national experts will be deployed to assess and certify the most effective chemical and physical control mechanisms. The FAO has facilitated inter-institutional working groups, gathering technical proposals from local fishing communities and scientific research centers.

Unomia stolonifera, which originates from Indonesia, has progressively colonized Venezuela's marine ecosystems over the last two decades. Lacking natural predators in the Caribbean, this soft octocoral has spread across vast areas of the seabed, displacing native stony corals and altering the marine environment's color and structure. The Ministry of Communication and Information highlighted that this "synergy seeks to shield the action plan and unify efforts against this biological threat that jeopardizes marine biodiversity and fishing activities in the region."

Described by the government as a "biological pandemic" and by researchers as an "environmental disaster," the rapid propagation of Unomia stolonifera poses significant socioeconomic impacts on tourism and artisanal fishing sectors. The Inter-institutional Technical Table has validated five specific scientific methods for its management and programmed eradication. Authorities and local biologists warn that the problem, initially concentrated in areas like Mochima National Park, risks spreading to other Caribbean islands and coastlines.

This synergy seeks to blindar el plan de acción y unificar esfuerzos frente a esta amenaza biológica que pone en riesgo la biodiversidad marina y la actividad pesquera en la región.

— Ministry of Communication and InformationThe Ministry of Communication and Information explaining the purpose of the collaborative effort against the invasive coral.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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