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We studied the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and bacterioplankton by the encrusting sponges Halisarca caerulea, Mycale microsigmatosa and Merlia normani in coral reefs along Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. Sponge specimens were collected from coral reef cavities and incubations were done on the fore-reef slope at 12 m depth. The concentrations of DOC and bacterioplankton carbon (BC) were monitored in situ, using incubation chambers with sponges and without sponges (incubations with coral rock or ambient reef water only). Average (±SD) DOC removal rates (in µmol C cm–3 sponge h–1) amounted to 13.1±2.5, 15.2±0.9 and 13.6±2.4 for H. caerula, M. microsigmatosa and M. normani, respectively. The DOC removal rates by the 3 sponges were on average 2 orders of magnitude higher than BC removal rates and accounted for more than 90% of the total organic carbon removal. Total …