Working Groups
One way in which the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force works to accomplish its mission and implement projects and activities is through the coordination of smaller, issue specific working groups.
Diverse perspectives and active engagement strengthen the Task Force and enhance the quality of our work. You can join a working group if you are a Task Force member (federal agencies, U.S. coral reef jurisdictions, or freely associated states). The active working groups are coral disease, watershed, climate change, restoration, enforcement, fisheries, and communications.
Email coralreefweb@noaa.gov for more information.
Active Working Groups
The focus of this group is currently stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), but also serves as mechanism to enable action in response to future disease.
A resource for the other members of the Task Force, this group aids in all communication needs to engage new members, managers, and the public.
This group focuses attention and expertise of member governments and agencies in areas with uncontrolled impacts to reefs and associated habitat.
The working group takes a jurisdictionally-led, federally-supported approach to achieving sustainable coral reef fisheries.
To improve coral reef ecosystem resilience, this group works to respond to threats via place-based efforts that include coral restoration.
This group identifies priority watersheds and provides assistance to other ongoing watershed and land-based pollution reduction efforts in all jurisdictions.
Inactive Groups
These groups helped shape the Task Force and resources within each page are still relevant to ongoing efforts.
One of the original working groups, this group was charged with developing, recommending, and seeking or securing implementation of measures necessary to reduce and mitigate coral reef ecosystem degradation due to water-borne and air-borne sources of pollution.
This ad-hoc group provided a forum for information sharing of the growing industry of aquaculture in and around coral reef resources and to better coordinate the efforts of its members.
Only by understanding and adapting to the effects of climate change and ocean acidification will it be possible to meet the USCRTF mandate to protect and enhance the condition of coral reef ecosystems and safeguard their sustainability for future generations.
Adequate planning and the consistent and proactive application of existing State and Federal authorities and programs can reduce the adverse impacts of coastal development, shoreline modification, vessel groundings, tourism, and other coastal uses.
This group assessed the potential impacts of human activities conducted in the coastal zone on coral reproduction and recruitment. Information can provide managers improvements in designing and implementing management activities that consider the impacts to coral reproduction.
Ecosystem Science & Conservation
This group conducted short-term strategic and long-term ecosystem-based research to understand coral reef community dynamics and stressors, identify management strategies to mitigate negative impacts, and evaluate the effectiveness of these management actions after they are implemented.
This group operated both as an outreach mechanism and as a body through which non-member organizations, academic institutions, and individuals can take part in Task Force activities. The communications working group currently fills this role.
The working group identified and shared information on tools and training to help prevent, respond to, assess, and mitigate major injury events in coral reef ecosystems. These tools addressed unplanned (e.g., vessel grounding or hurricane damage) as well as unplanned but permitted (e.g., dredging or aquaculture) injuries.
This group worked to strengthen human and institutional capacity to develop and implement sustainable management plans, enforce relevant laws and regulations, develop environmentally sound collection practices and alternatives, and implement other measures to protect and conserve coral reef ecosystems.
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) committed to producing comprehensive digital maps of all U.S. shallow-water (less than 30 meters) coral reef habitats, and to characterize priority moderate-depth (30-200 meters) reef systems.
Applicable agencies and local jurisdictions coordinated and gathered data on the effectiveness of mitigation from federally funded and permitted activities. This analysis included an assessment of which actions were most successful and recommendations for improving and identifying successes.
Tasked with reviewing best management practices (BMPs) for roadway design, construction and maintenance, an index to BMPs from the current literature was developed as the final report of the Group.
Pollution is a priority area for action. This group explores developing regulations to limit the types and amounts of land-based waste being discharged, increasing fines for violators of reef regulations, implementing new pollution-control measures, and establishing Federal-local partnerships.
Other Working Groups
Coral Disease and Health Consortium
Disease is one of the most significant and growing biological threats to tropical coral reefs around the globe. Although a low level of disease is normal, the abundance and spread of coral disease is escalating, susceptible species are increasing in number, and mortality is increasing beyond the level expected for healthy populations.