MANILA, Philippines?A disaster is unfolding under our waters.

For several months now, marine scientists and divers have been witnessing and recording the massive bleaching of coral reefs all over the country, which is being caused by warmer-than-normal ocean water temperatures.

In some coves, what was once a thriving, technicolor symphony of corals has been transformed into sickly white reefs, the equivalent of an underwater ghost town.

One picture from the report released by a group of scientists last week showed a stark white coral colony. The colony is estimated to be 200 years old.

Other photographs showed corals turning into dark brown lumps, an indication that it?s on the way to bleaching.

?There is something happening underwater and it may be catastrophic,? Rollan Geronimo of Conservation International said.

Under stress, dying

The whitening of corals, caused by the death of zooxanthellae, the protozoa that gives it coloration, is a sign that it is under stress or dying.

Even after the cause of the stress has ended, bleaching still tends to continue, which makes the recovery of corals a hard and long process.

A change in temperature is often the main cause of bleaching.

Magnitude

Scientists from the University of the Philippines and De La Salle University, who raised the alarm on bleaching last week, said the magnitude of the current coral bleaching could surpass the catastrophe in 1998, also an El Niño year. The bleaching 12 years ago caused millions of dollars in losses in the tourism and fishery industries.

Professor Perry Aliño of the UP Marine Science Institute said his group received reports and pictures from various observatories nationwide of the disastrous state of coral colonies since May, when the country was in the grip of a temperature record-breaking summer.

?Under the sea, the extreme climate phenomenon called El Niño continues to devastate many coral reefs in the Philippines?an important habitat of many fishes and organisms and a lifeblood for the livelihood and food to millions of Filipinos,? Aliño said in his report.

?The threat is real and the future for our coral reefs is at great risk and this rich legacy can be lost if we remain inactive to this crisis,? he added.

Professor Al Licuanan of De La Salle University expressed fears that the coral reefs in the country could be greatly diminished in 50 years if bleaching happens every 10 years or so.

Still warm

Data from weather satellites show that the temperature in the oceans surrounding the Philippines rose by around 2 degrees Celsius in 2009.

Although the El Niño season has passed, the waters surrounding the country have yet to cool down due to a lack of typhoons in the past months, scientists said.

Professor Mags Quibilan of the UP Marine Science Institute said what was alarming this time around was the scale of the bleaching.

Even protected marine areas, off limits to fishermen and divers, have suffered various degrees of bleaching, Quibilan said.

In El Nido, Palawan, for instance, the report noted that bleaching ?is extensive,? with ?50-75 percent? of the corals affected.

?We are still hoping that they will recover ? We can?t say this is worse than 1998, but in some places like El Nido, they said this was worse than in 1998,? Quibilan said.

Hot spots

So far, scientists have confirmed at least eight areas, which include popular dive sites, as bleaching hot spots. These are in Batangas (Nasugbu, Lian, Bauan, Mabini, Lobo and Calatagan), Oriental Mindoro (Calapan) and Quezon (Pagbilao).

Scientists are verifying bleaching in Puerto Galera and Lubang Island. There have also been reports of coral whitening in Bolinao, Batangas, Iloilo and other parts of Palawan, besides El Nido.

Quibilan said the bleaching of corals, which provide food and sanctuary to other marine animals, would affect the country?s fisheries and tourism industry. In 1998, it was estimated that El Nido lost at least $15 million in earnings from fisheries and tourism because of the phenomenon.

Aside from the adverse impact on tourism, the whitening of the reefs could also affect the livelihoods of coastal residents.

The waters of the Philippines is part of the Coral Triangle, a 5.7-million square kilometer area, one of the most diverse marine ecoystems in the world.

More eyes and ears

The Coral Triangle, which is bounded by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Island and Timor Leste, is home to 75 percent of the coral species in the world. It also supports a multibillion-dollar tuna industry.

Because much of the country depends on the resources from the ocean, scientists urged the government to take action.

Aliño said local governments should establish conservation efforts to ?ensure that coral reefs remain healthy to withstand and recover quickly from bleaching and other stressors.?

He said the government should also create marine protected areas to hasten the recovery of the coral colonies.

?We need the national government agencies to provide a stimulus program for post-bleaching recovery through restoration and effective reduction of other man-made stressors in affected coral reefs,? Aliño said.

To raise awareness, environmentalists and scientists have established a Facebook page called Philippine Coral Bleaching Watch that encourages divers, scientists and environmentalists to report areas where bleaching is occurring.

The scientists appealed to the public to help them record and monitor the extent of the destruction: ?We need more eyes and hands underwater to make things matter,? they said.