Caribbean Beaches May Be Great But Its Oceans No So Much

Northern Saint Martin’s ocean is coming up roses.

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. June 9, 2015: When it comes to sand, sea and sun the Caribbean continues to attract significant tourists especially from North America but the latest Ocean Health Index shows the Caribbean seas are not as healthy as many would think.

The Ocean Health Index which measures the global state of the world’s oceans show only the ocean off Northern Saint Martin managed to score the highest on the rank for the entire region. Northern Saint Martin scored 80 out of the overall 100 points. Researchers evaluate the condition of marine ecosystems according to Food Provision, Sense of Place and Biodiversity. The island ranked 14th globally.

No other Caribbean island cracked the top 80. Curacao came the closest with a score of 71 and a global rank of 46.

The healthiest ocean globally is the Howland Island and Baker Island.

The Caribbean region is suffering from overfishing and pollution which have enabled algae to devastate coral reefs. Those corals lucky enough to escape the algae are being bleached by rising ocean temperatures due to the continuing advance of climate change.