Coral reefs near Eilat continue to deteriorate, study finds
(Video: Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat)
The coral reef in the Gulf of Eilat is one of the natural treasures of the State of Israel. But the world's northern reef continues to suffer from the consequences of the climate crisis, including the warming of the Red Sea, the accumulation of pollutants, and diseases that almost completely wiped out the population of black sea urchins. The annual report published Thursday by the Environmental Protection Ministry, carried out by the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Studies in Eilat, andfunded by the Fund for the Prevention of Sea Pollution, presents a grim picture, which shows that the situation is getting worse.
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The monitoring program, which began in 2003, is entering its 20th year. The findings for 2022 continue to point to the deterioration of the sensitive ecosystem of the Bay of Eilat. The Environmental Protection Ministry says that the findings reinforce the need to adopt its policy outline for the Gulf of Eilat.
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Researcher examines corals in the Bay of Eilat
(Photo: Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat)
Much of the damage caused to the reef was from a strong winter storm in 2020, which broke apart infrastructure and facilities on the beaches. According to the report, there should be minimal development of Eilat's beaches, so that similar damage can be prevented in the coming winter season, even though concrete works took place along the beach this year.
In March 2020, Eilat faced an unusually strong southern storm, which caused great destruction on the city's beaches. The coral reef in Eilat also was damaged by the storm, due to the coral breaking and being covered in sand that was blown up by the waves, and due to the impact of debris and parts of infrastructure that were washed away from the beaches into the sea.
The damage to the reef was not uniform and the survey found that it was characterized by a loss of about 6% to 22% of living coral depending on the site. In 2021, another decrease of 1.5% was measured in the coral cover in the bay, as well as the deterioration of the reef even at a depth of 20 meters, likely due to sand deposits. In 2022, the beginning of the rehabilitation of the reef was measured, and a slow increase in the percentage of live cover of the coral.
One of the alarming findings stems from the discovery of defects in sea animals. In 2020, foraminifera, unicellular marine organisms, located on the north coast were found for the first time to have deformities in their calcareous skeletal structure. This deformity indicates a disturbance in the creatures' growth. In 2021, skeletal deformity characterized about 1% of the individual organisms sampled. In 2022, for the first time, deformities were also found on the south coast, in contrast to previous years, in which skeletal deformities was found only on the north coast.
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Viewing damage to corals in the Gulf of Eilat
(Photo: Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat)
It is possible that the recorded increase in the acidity of the sea water affects the skeletal growth of the species, but the phenomenon is not characteristic of the entire bay, but only the sampling stations in front of the Kinet Canal on the north coast, which points to the canal as a possible source of this problem.
Another pollutant known to cause skeletal deformities of marine animals is heavy metals. Recently, unusual concentrations of metals were found in front of the exit of the canal in the area where the fish cages used to be located. The 2020 storm may have exposed layers in the seabed where metals had previously accumulated.
The condition of the sea urchins is also worrying. In the last decade, there has been a continuous downward in the density of sea urchins in Eilat. Recently, a disease wiped out almost the entire population. It is not clear whether they will be able to recover.
In addition, the trend of the increase in the deep water temperature recorded in the previous surveys continues. At the same time, the sea surface temperature has also been increasing since 1988, at an average rate of about 0.045 degrees per year. This rate is 2.5 times higher than the global average calculated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2022, no peak temperature was measured as in previous years, and the maximum temperature measured at sea level was 2 degrees lower than the previous year, and stood at 27°C.
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In recent years, serious damage has been caused to Eilat's corals
(Photo: Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat)
There is also fear that expanding the operation of the desalination plant in Eilat will lead to an increase in the amount of nitrogen and brine discharged into the sea. The desalinization expansion stems from the demand for desalinated water for the irrigation of farmers' fields in the Arava.
"It is our responsibility to reduce every possible risk and threat in order to preserve the coral reef for Israel and the world, so that it is renewed and preserved. Every time there is a new threat or an old threat returns, we have to continue to stand up," according to Professor Noga Kronfeld-Schor, chief scientist for the Environmental Protection Ministry.
"Today we know much more about what is happening in the Gulf of Eilat. One thing is clear, the gulf is in a situation where a small addition of risk can bring it to catastrophe," said Rani Amir, director of the national unit for the protection of the marine environment at the ministry. "We hear a lot about construction initiatives on the coasts, the initiative to increase the transportation of oil. From our point of view, it is forbidden to add risk because the habitats are so sensitive and globally important. We need to remove any threat from a human source and prevent it."
Environmental Protection MInister Idit Silman clarified that there is no change in the ministry's policy, according to which there is no increase in the quantities of oil that Trans-Israel Pipeline will be allowed to transport in the Gulf of Eilat, due to the policy of zero added risk.
Zalul Environmental Association said in response that "in order to protect the unique coral reef of the Gulf of Eilat, we must prevent any source of pollution or risk of further destruction. The Trans-Israel Pipeline's plans to increase oil transportation are exactly what we must not allow. It should be remembered that even small leaks cause the mixing of toxic and soluble substances found in the oil and enter the sensitive Gulf waters. These substances are very harmful to the development of corals and their saturation and that of other marine animals in the reef."
EILAT CORAL REEF UNDER THREAT OF OCEAN WARMING