A recent report documented and presented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that about half of the U.S. coral reefs are in a rather poor condition and without an immediate intervention it will only get worse.

According to the bureau’s investigations, the marine life in the Caribbean Oceans and in the Pacific is at an all-times low, with the worrying decline being directly linked to a series of human activities such as pollution, trash dumping and overfishing sessions.

"Human impacts are making the big difference," said NOAA's Timothy Keeney, co-chair of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, as quoted by USA Today. "Humans are the most invasive species of all," he concluded.

The study, released earlier today and widely debated at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, presents the bureau’s conclusions after a careful analysis of 15 shallow-water reef preserves administered by the government. Some of the most alarming news refer to certain areas where more than 90 percent of all corals have been killed as a result of hurricanes, bleaching and disease. While hurricanes cannot be linked to humans, it is another story when it comes to disease spread and bleaching – the disease is connected to the massive pollution of the oceans and the bleaching process, which causes a loss of color, is a direct effect of global warming.

The coral reefs have been presented as being a lot more than just beautiful structures produced by living organisms and besides benefiting tourism they also bring a significant support in breaking costal storms.

The conclusions reached show that the whole situation is in disparate need of a good and rapid solution if not for reversing the process, at least for stopping the decline, which can only be found by bringing as many people as possible closer to the issue and presenting the effects of our actions.