Coral Reef Report Cards 2016 Saint Lucia Report Card | Page 5

Saint Lucia ’ s Reef Health Index

The National Reef Health Index was 2.8 ( out of 5 ). Coral cover was ‘ good ’ ( score = 4 ). Herbivorous fish biomass was ‘ fair ’ ( score = 3 ), some reefs had many parrotfish . Fleshy macroalgae ( score = 2 ) was abundant in areas without herbivory and could be reduced if herbivorous fish were protected . Commercial fish biomass was low ( score = 2 ), although large-sized fish were found in protected areas .

Key findings :

• Marine managed areas are helping fish populations increase

Subregion 27

• New healthy elkhorn corals provide hope for recovery

• Reefs with complex habitat structure had more diverse fish

• Diadema urchins are helping to keep seaweed in check

• Siltation harming corals and preventing new corals from growing

• Reefs in subregions where no surveys have been performed need further study

Reef Outlook :

• 30 % of reefs are in ‘ good ’ condition and are likely more resilient to disturbances . Additional protection will keep larval sources abundant

• 35 % of reefs are in ‘ fair ’ condition , but may recover if human impacts are minimized

• 35 % of reefs are in ‘ poor ’ condition and may not recover unless human impacts are reduced and key processes restored

• No reefs were in ‘ very good ’ or ‘ critical ’ condition

Canaries

MAMIN

Belle Vue

Roseau

Saint Lucia site names : Bold = FORCE 2011 Italics = Steneck 2014

Castries City

Quilesse Forest Reserve

Reduit Beach

Cas En Bas

Castries Waterworks Forest Reserve

Praslin

Subregion 28

Reef Health Index Scores ( RHI )

The Reef Health “ grades ” are calculated by converting the average data value of each indicator into a condition ranking from ‘ critical ’ to ‘ very good ’ based on reference values ( right ). The four grades are averaged to obtain the overall RHI score . The pie displays the overall RHI ( middle ) and each individual indicator to show how each indicator affects the score .

The Reef Health Index ( RHI )

Reef Health Index Reference Values *

* Reef Health Index developed by Healthy Reefs Initiative ( healthyreefs . org ) ** Caribbean average based on AGRRA regional database 2011-2014 ( agrra . org ) 1 Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment ( FORCE ) ( force-project . eu ). 2 Previous surveys summarized in Australian-Caribbean Coral Reef Collaboration . 2014 . Outlook for the Pitons and Soufriere Marine Management Areas , Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority . A trend is calculated after an indicator has been assessed for at least two years , otherwise it is listed as not available ( n / a ). For maps & references see www . caribnode . org .

4

Critical 1-1.8

Poor 1.9-2.6

Fair 2.7-3.4

Good 3.5-4.2

Very Good 4.3-5

Coral Cover (%) < 5 5.0-9.9 10.0-19.9 20.0-39.9 ≥40 Fleshy Macroalgal Cover (%) > 25.0 12.1-25 5.1-12.0 1.0-5.0 0-0.9 Herbivorous Fish ( g / 100m 2 ) < 960 960-1919 1920-2879 2880-3479 ≥3480 Commercial Fish ( g / 100m 2 ) < 420 420-839 840-1259 1260-1679 ≥1680