Oceanic buoy to be installed in five CARICOM countries

St. Lucia is one of five Caribbean selected for the installation of an oceanographic buoy which is part of a network of Coral Reef Early Warning Systems for the Caribbean.

A government statement said the system falls under a project being implemented by the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC) that seeks to measure the effects of climate change on coral reefs.

Off the coast of Soufriere

It said the oceanographic buoy being erected off the coast of Soufriere, is the third of its kind to be established in the waters of the Caribbean with two systems already erected in Antigua and St Kitts-Nevis. Two others will be established in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Mitigate negative impact of climate change

“Coral reefs in Caribbean waters have, in recent years, endured much bleaching and have been placed under stressors, which in some cases cause death to the reefs. The new system will help monitor these conditions and will help to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on reef systems,” the statement said.

It said that the Coral Reef Early Warning System is part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored project with each system being erected at a cost of US$25,000.