starfish threaten corals in the Pacific Ocean

In the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean, a species of starfish has continued to proliferate for around thirty years. Nicknamed “crown of thorns”, it has become the sworn enemy of the seabed, because it destroys coral in the Philippines, but also in Australia. With the reheatement of water, this is one of the main reasons for the disappearance coral. A team of biologists, met by France 2, spend their time inspecting. “It eats our coral (…) it makes the situation worse”explains Cirilo Lagnason, marine biologist.

Overfishing to blame

Underwater, they will photograph and collect the crowns of thorns for forty minutes. There are so many of them that their bags soon fill up. Despite the studies carried out, scientists are unable to define the explanation for this phenomenon. One of the hypotheses would be the use of fertilizers for agriculture in coastal areas. There overfishing would also lead to the disappearance of some of their predators.