Missing the boat: Critical threats to coral reefs are neglected at global scale

- Managers perceive coastal pollution and overfishing as equal threats to coral reefs.
- There is a mismatch between resource allocation and perceived threat to coral reefs.
- Frequent evaluation of threat to resource allocation levels is needed by managers.
- Focusing on a single threat risks investments made to protect the resource long term.

Coral reefs have experienced a global decline due to overfishing, pollution, and warming oceans that are becoming increasingly acidic. To help halt and reverse this decline, interventions should be aimed at those threats reef experts and managers identify as most severe. The survey included responses from 170 managers, representing organizations from 50 countries and territories, and found that respondents generally agreed on the two major threats: overfishing and coastal development. However, resource allocation did not match this consensus on major threats. In particular, while overfishing receives much attention, coastal development and its attendant pollution are largely neglected and underfunded. These results call for a re-examination of how resources are allocated in coral reef conservation, with more attention given to aligning how money is spent with what are perceived to be the primary threats.