Coral depend on fish. Fish depend on coral. That’s why Jamaica is trying to reduce ocean pollution and stop overfishing.

Scientists once thought that most of Jamaica’s coral reef had been permanently replaced by seaweed. By the 1980s and 1990s, Jamaica had lost 85% of its once-bountiful coral reefs. And fish were disappearing as well. But today, corals and tropical fish are slowly reappearing. That’s good news, because corals are some of the most important animals in the ocean.

Coral reefs are often called “rainforests of the sea” because of the amazing variety of life they shelter.

Just 2% of the ocean floor is filled with the branching shapes of coral. But a quarter of all marine species depend on the underwater forests. Clown fish, parrotfish, groupers, and snappers hide among the coral’s antler-shaped branches and the reef’s nooks and crannies. Coral forests attract eels, sea snakes, octopuses, and even sharks. In healthy reefs, jellyfish and sea turtles are regular visitors too.

Fish rely upon the reef structure to evade danger and lay eggs. But they repay the favor. They eat up the coral’s rivals. You see, life on the ocean floor is like a slow-motion contest for space. Tropical fish and other marine animals, like black sea urchins, munch on fast-growing algae and seaweed. If they didn’t, those underwater plants would quickly crowd out slower-growing coral.

Coral and fish depend on each other. And they both depend on people not to ruin God’s good design of interdependence.