Lessons From the Healthiest Coral Reef in the Caribbean

Climate change is an existential threat to coral reefs around the world and especially in the Caribbean, where more than half of the hard corals have died. Warming-fueled heat waves and superstorms kill corals, as do diseases, boat traffic, and pollution.

Climate-related threats know no boundaries, which is why many scientists argue that simply protecting the ocean with marine reserves — a cornerstone of marine conservation — won't help reefs survive. Restricting fishing, for example, can’t do much to save coral if the ocean is warming beyond what these ecosystems can tolerate.

Yet a small island just east of Curaçao, known as Bonaire, tells a slightly different story. The island's coral reef, widely considered the healthiest in the Caribbean, has demonstrated an exceptional ability to recover after being struck by warming-fueled bleaching and a hurricane. And marine protection is likely key to that resilience.

This series, reported by Vox correspondent Benji Jones and shot by underwater photojournalist Jennifer Adler, aims to explain what makes Bonaire’s reefs resilient — and how far that resilience will stretch. While it remains the healthiest reef in the Caribbean, Bonaire is now under attack by a fast-spreading coral-killing disease and another bout of bleaching. This raises alarms. If the Caribbean's healthiest reef is starting to collapse, what hope do coral reefs elsewhere have?