Summary

Coral reefs in the Caribbean have suffered massive losses of corals since the early 1980s due to a wide range of human impacts, such as explosive human populations growth, coastal pollution, global warming, overfishing, invasive species and diseases. The publication in the journal science in 2003 stated that live corals have been reduced from more than 50% in the 70s to 10% today. One of the causes has been the enormous die off of D. antillarum (Long Spined Sea Urchin), an absolute keystone species on the reef, which keeps coral reefs healthy and clean from algae. So this research was set up, which has focused on the breeding techniques of the D. antillarum and the regulations regarding therestocking of cultured D. antillarum in the waters surrounding the islands Saba and St. Eustatius.