“Unomia stolonífera”, the coral that invades the coasts of Venezuela and threatens the Caribbean

A coral called “unomia stolofínera”From Indonesia, silently invades the coast of Venezuela for almost two decades, but its rapid spread has begun to disrupt human activities such as fishing and the tourisma problem that threatens to spread throughout the Caribbean.

This exotic species, with no natural predators in the Caribbean waters, has colonized thousands of cubic meters in Venezuelan waters, which is why the Minister of Ecosocialism (Environment), Josué Lorca, speaks of a “biological pandemic”, The invader kills the stony corals and imposes its dark tone on the seabed.

In response to this, the Venezuelan government, with the help of FAO, is working on the standardization of protocols for the control and management of this soft coral, for which it has brought together biologists, ecologists and researchers in general, some of whom describe the situation as a “environmental disaster”.

A Caribbean problem

According to what marine biologist José Grieco, coordinator of the environmental organization Proyecto Unomia, explained to EFE, it is “the first time that uncontrolled proliferation of an exotic species has occurred” in Venezuela, especially “of the magnitude that it has had” this “atypical invasion”.

“It is no longer a problem of Venezuela, this has already gone to a different level, this is a problem of the greater Caribbean, because it is already there, it is in Cuba, it is presumed to be in the Dominican Republic and it is already in Puerto Rico as well, so this is here to stay,” said the diver, who has studied the species for years.

In his opinion, “The (combat) strategy has to be oriented towards mitigation,” a plan that was agreed upon by practically all the researchers who met in Anzoátegui (northeast), where they signed, together with the Executive and the FAO, a commitment to create and implement a “general protocol that evaluates and monitors control methods.”

The objective, Lorca announced in the activity, is “generate a uniform methodology among all” to “attack the problem in a comprehensive manner, and that it may serve as an example for other countries.”

At least four of the ten states of Venezuela located on the Caribbean Sea are affected by this invasion, which, according to figures from the Unomia project, has spread to 78 different points, where colonization is just beginning or has already destroyed hard corals, from which it has robbed them of their light.

In search of solutions

Researchers have suggested various methods to mitigate this pandemic, including placing blankets over the coral – impregnated with a bioremediator – which kills the unomia in about three days, both by depriving it of light and because of the kind of poison contained in the plastic with which it is covered.

“It is a technique to clean the courtyard of the inn“, acknowledges the creator of the protocol, Sinatra Salazar, professor at the University of Oriente (UDO), who advocates for coordination between the State and fishermen to popularize the implementation of this or any other method that serves to control the invader.

The researcher stressed that this animal “has achieved the ideal conditions” to reproduce, also helped by the climate emergency which, he explains, “The chemistry of the waters and temperatures has changed”which favors the survival of soft corals over the stony ones, which are predominant in the region.

With a different approach, the organization Unomia Solutions has created several devices, including a robot that walks along the seabed and eradicates the intruder or extraction hoses that manage to get the problem out of the water. In both cases, the speed of these prototypes needs to be increased, according to the mind behind these inventions, Jorge García.

For the engineer, who claims to have dived about a thousand hours in his research on this species, the “The main objective is to preserve corals” tough, although he reiterates that the country faces an enormous challenge that must be “stop in time””, with the help of technology and coordinated work.

Under this premise, FAO approved a contribution of US$ 5,900,000 for the control plan of the ““Unomia stolonifera”which will be channeled through the joint protocol that will be led by the Executive, with the help of scientists and other relevant parties.

It may interest you

• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is more threatened than ever
• The world is suffering from a new massive episode of coral bleaching
• Coral plantation manages to recover a reef in just four years