Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) was first identified in 2014 off of Virginia Key, Florida. Since then, this unprecedented coral disease has spread to the Caribbean. As of March 2021, the disease has been confirmed in 16 Caribbean countries and territories.
CEP was established in 1981 as part of the Regional Seas Programme in recognition of the importance and value of the Wider Caribbean Region’s fragile and vulnerable coastal and marine ecosystems including endemic plants and animals.