Historical State

The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the Northern Hemisphere, spanning 300 kilometers along the coast of Belize. This ecosystem was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 but only to be put on their list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 2009. Coral cover has declined to a low of 11% with the species Anthozoa and Hydrozoa listed as endangered. The deterioration of coral has put 55% of the reef system in critical or poor condition. This decrease in coral coverage has also affected the fish biomass and presence in the reef. There are hundreds of species of fish in this ecosystem, but many of them are threatened and listed on IUCN’s Red List.  Species of grouper endemic to Belize are at risk of extinction, but only exist due to conservation efforts. Besides groupers, Largetooth and Smalltooth Sawfish are also nearing extinction. Sightings of these fish are rare and research teams were unable to locate any of them during an assessment in 2010. The decrease in fish biomass is also due to the invasion of Indo-Pacific Lionfish in 2008. This specie has no natural predators in the reef, making its destruction of life in this ecosystem even more devastating. The reef is said to be between 40% to 60% dead, making it on average less than half of what it used to be. Much of Belize’s barrier reef has yet to be explored but its rapid decline in the last few decades may prevent any new knowledge to surface about one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world.