"There are two main types of reef," explained Professor Sascha Steiner, president of the Institute for Tropical Marine Ecology. "One is the traditional coral reef, corals that secrete skeletons that build on top of each other so after hundreds of thousands of years these structures build upwards. We don't have so much of that in Dominica because the island is so young. If you were to drill a hole in a lot of our reefs, you would find only a thin layer of corals and then volcanic rock. There has not [been] enough time to build up the framework."

Aside from not having a lot of time to develop, the reefs of Dominica have to also survive a battering from natural elements like waves and violent weather that can pose a threat to the fragile coral assemblages.

"Oceanographic destruction is massive," Steiner said. "The island is so young that hurricanes and terrestrial runoff have limited the reefs."

In addition to natural threats to the coral reef, man also poses a significant risk. Dominica is one of the few Caribbean islands where descendants of the original inhabitants are still alive, and native fishing in shallow water can damage the coral.

"The main fishing techniques use nets, dropping them off boats and drawing a circle towards shore, dragging it along," Steiner explained.

Nets scraping along the bottom of the sea can catch on coral, anchors can crush assemblages, and boats can bump into larger pieces. And aside from directly damaging the coral, fishing has side effects that lead to a weaker reef.

"For some reason carnivorous fish taste better, and so they are fished and fished until they've been wiped out of an environment. Then the fishermen move on to grazers, until they've been wiped out," Steiner said. "Without the grazers to keep it in check, the algae will eventually out compete the coral. It grows over the corals, takes away their light, the corals die, and the structures fall apart. And you don't just lose the corals, you lose gazillions of organisms. That's what comes of interrupting food chains."

More so than fishing, changes in the community and economy of Dominica has had a trickle-down effect on the surrounding reefs. Dominican farmers, long the backbone of the economy, can no longer compete with multinational corporations and so are folding up shop to move to coastal towns for other opportunities. The result has been a population explosion along the coast. Building the houses and roads for the growing shore communities creates sediment runoff that gets blown or pushed into the ocean and clouds the water, obstructing coral access to life-giving light.

"Every time you have rain or wind, that is so much sediment going out into the reef," Steiner said. "The sediment literally clogs the coral reef. There's only so much they can take. They're starting to run out of energy. If they're using so much energy sweeping up the sediment, then they don't have any left over to reproduce."

Dominican authorities have taken some steps to protect the coral surrounding the island. They have established two marine reserves that are monitored by wardens and where fishing is prohibited. They also designated offshore fishing zones for the local population to both satisfy their fishing needs and preserve the reef structure.

Thanks to government-sponsored fishing aggregation devices, moored undersea structures that attract and house schools of fish, the islanders are allowed greater fishing access while at the same time leaving the coral reefs undisturbed.

"They can fish deeper water and get more fish, bigger fish," explained Arun Madisetti, Marine Manager of the Dominican Marine Reserve Service.

Madisetti has also enlisted local divers into the cause, using them to survey damage to the reefs and monitor fish populations and environmental health.

"Bringing them in has been a big part of it," Madisetti said. "Local divers often get bored and say 'oh I've dived there already,' but when there have been changes and we need them to check it out, it all works out."

So far, the news has been good.

"Returning divers have been saying they see bigger and more fish, which means it's working," Madisetti said.

But Steiner believes the government needs to devote more time and energy to stem the continual strain on the reefs.

"It's not just sudden impact that's threatening reefs globally, it's the chronic, constant pressure," Steiner said. "It's like the HIV virus. When you have sediment and physical impact constantly nagging the coral, it weakens the system."

Steiner said there was a variety of reasons for saving the reefs, beyond preserving the millions of diverse species that call the coral home.

"We're discovering the reef can also be valuable for medicinal purposes. The diving operators have to conserve the reefs so they can run a business and make a living. And the reefs protect the shorelines during storms."

The reef is also important to the native Dominicans.

"It's part of the native culture," Steiner said. "It's tied to local culture providing for food and meals. People eat fresh fish four to five times a week here. It's vital to their diet. We need to preserve the reef, conserve the resource so future generations can get local fish rather than rely on frozen chicken from Nebraska. Sooner or later that's going to be cheaper to eat. It's about preserving that resource."

-- By Jessica Moore, Online NewsHour