Extreme storms in March caused ‘unprecedented’ Eilat coral reef damage – report

Unusually violent storms in the Gulf of Eilat in March have caused unprecedented damage to Eilat’s coral reefs, with losses reaching up to 75 percent in some places and rehabilitation likely to take many years, according to initial survey results released by the Environmental Protection Ministry.

To further complicate recovery, the survey also found algae growing on the reefs as the result of fertilizer and other organic materials entering the sea. Algae compete with juvenile corals for space on the reefs.

Divers from the Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat found a massive 75% reduction in coral cover at a depth of ten meters (33 feet) in the Coral Beach Reserve compared with last summer, and a 25% depletion at a depth of five meters (16 feet), compared with last spring. At the Institute’s reefs, south of Coral Beach, the damage was the worst since the Environmental Protection Ministry started funding the annual surveys in 2003. Precise data was not provided.

In 2003, waste from fish farming cages was still causing massive pollution and damage to the Red Sea corals. The cages were banned in 2008 after public pressure.

— Sue Surkes