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That is terrible news because this lethal disease affects hard corals which are fundamental in reef building and health. The disease is waterborne and aside from Belize, it is affecting corals in Mexico, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands among others. So those are the facts that have been established. But there is so much more to be learned about this disease and today's session was a step towards getting some answers. Courtney Weatherburne has more from the meeting at the Biltmore.

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Stony coral tissue loss disease is an urgent national issue. This disease is killing corals in the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve and it is spreading quickly to other areas.

Beverly Wade, Administrator, Belize Fisheries Department
"It was in Rocky point and now we have detected it and we have confirmed it in the Basil Jones area which is south of the Rocky Point area. And we are looking at it very vigilantly because the next stop for us would be the Hol Chan marine reserve and I don't have to say what the implications there can be, like I said it is a matter of extreme importance."

And it is so for the Caribbean and MAR countries as well. The Mesoamerican Reef Fund organized a regional meeting where all the environmental stakeholders from Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras can share their research and findings in tackling this disease.

Beverly Wade, Administrator, Belize Fisheries Department
"The meeting that is being held today is really to look at the Mesoamerican reef system, it's health and management but in particular as it relates to the approach to SCTLD."

"What we tried to do today is to bring together experts and on the ground practitioners and researchers who are now looking at the disease to help countries like Belize and themselves on what is the best approach, what is the best prescription in dealing with a disease such as this one."

There are many coral treatment options including the shea butter and chlorine paste that Belize is currently experimenting with but this treatment does not seem to be working. Coral restoration, on the other hand, is a viable option that has been producing promising results. Belize has been at the forefront of this approach. The main aim is to ensure that the healthy coral species continue to flourish.

Lisa Carne, Director & Founder Fragments of Hope
"All of our work has always been what we call "in situ" meaning in the field or in water, so there is no artificial tanks, nothing, all nature based, all in the water. And even recently we began stepping up the process whereby they don't need nursery time, a process that is called micro fragmenting so you use a special diamond blade saw and you cut the corals a certain size and that invigorates them to grow a little faster. And we have found with certain species we can bypass the nursery stage and outplant directly on the reef and we are getting great results with that."

For about a year, Mexican experts have also been conducting tests with a more scientific method.

Claudia Padilla, Researcher, National Fisheries Institute, Mexico
"We are trying some experiments, some trials, we rescue, we take a small living tissue from a diseased colony and we put it in our tanks in controlled conditions with good water quality and lights and vitamins, we take care of them and they respond very well, they don't present the disease in the tanks that is a good result."

But still, this option does not stop the disease from spreading. One of the most successful treatments so far is the application of antibiotics.

Emma Doyle, Coordinator, MPA Connect Network
"Some of the experience from the Florida specialist has been that they advise to treat as quickly and aggressively as possible using the treatments that are very topical and do involve some antibiotic treatment. Now this is very specific treatment and only done by specialists, it is a very small scale treatment in the field but that has been stopping and helping holt the disease in some of the corals so that has been effective."

But it is not that simple:

Beverly Wade, Administrator, Belize Fisheries Department
"It is something that we have to look at and as I said we have to look at it also carefully, the issue is that we also have to consider the introduction of antibiotics in the natural system. As I said it is a matter of now looking at the experiences of those areas that have been looking at it to see what information they can share with us so that we can ensure that our strategy is informed by the best available science and information which exists."

That is really the ultimate hope, in spite of the aggressiveness and severity of this disease.

Lisa Carne, Director & Founder Fragments of Hope
"It is pretty frightening, in Mexico they have lost basically half their reef in a short period of time it affects over 20 species and in the Caribbean we only have about 70 coral species so it could eventually be catastrophic but as I mentioned, we want to stay optimistic and try to see where we can try to find more solutions and the good news is that Belize, we still have a very small population here so compared to Mexico or the DR where they have a much higher impact on water quality, they have a lot more people, they have a lot more development, their reefs are closer to shore. We have some physical advantages."

The UB-chaired Belize Coral Reef Monitoring Network will meet after the series of meetings to gather all that was shared at the meeting to determine the next step.