VENEZUELA-ENVIRONMENT-CORAL-UNOMIA-STOLONIFERA

Underwater view shows the invasive coral Unomia Stolonifera that proliferates and threatens other coral species in the coral reefs at Valle Seco beach in Choroni, Aragua state, Venezuela on April 21, 2023. - A shadow snakes across the turquoise waters of a beach in Venezuela, a sign of the explosive spread of an Indo-Pacific soft coral in Caribbean waters, considered by experts to be one of the world's deadliest marine invasions. The invader, which clings to living things, rocks, or seabeds, is believed to have been introduced illegally for commercial purposes in Mochima, a paradisiacal marine ecosystem of more than 94,000 hectares between the states of Anzoategui and Sucre (northeast). (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)