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