2008 Woodie Awards
Reefs need protection
Brandon Drescher
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Opinion
I love the ocean. I intend to spend the rest of my life studying the ocean, its mesmerizing depths and fascinating inhabitants.
Yet, how can I enjoy something so vast, so beautiful, so powerful if the human race cannot respect and appreciate how important it is to our survival, and not ruin it like the many areas of land which we have already destroyed. Perhaps the most beautiful and pristine parts of the ocean are the coral reefs, which are, biologically, the richest systems in the world, yet cover less than half of the oceans' area. There are some reefs that are remote enough to supply us with reference points against which to measure environmental change and serve as a blueprint for conservation, such as Kingman Reef, a few thousand miles south of Hawaii .
An estimated 50 reefs of this pristine condition exist today with the remaining coral reef areas suffering badly. Corals are slow growers, taking decades to achieve a fraction of their current size. So don't be an ignorant tourist and walk across coral reefs killing everything you step on or break up corals to take home as trinkets from your vacation. Without corals we would not be able to enjoy certain seafood delicacies sustained by the coral. Also, a good portion of our medical supplies and studies comes from coral reefs and the organisms inhabiting them. Killing them is killing us.
A healthy reef includes various and lush corals covering the seabed, crystal clear water, and large predators. Overfishing of large predatory fish unleashes population booms of their smaller prey fish followed by blooms of microbes. Microbes may include tiny organisms such as dinoflagellates, which cause the famous red tides that suffocate all life in the part of the ocean where they occur.
We have seen this effect of disappearing larger fish and the increase in numbers of smaller fish and microbes worldwide. With a drop in large fish population number, microbe populations explode adding to coral degradation and eventual death of the reef.
There is hope for some areas, especially in the Pacific. We can forget about the Gulf of Mexico. As long as the casinos and ports continue to emerge and grow, the ships will continue to run, the water will stay cloudy and polluted and organic life will be destroyed. In contrast to the other side of the world, the largest marine reserve in the world is comparable in size with California and was established by the Kiribati nation of tiny islands in the central Pacific. It is a 158,000 square-mile reserve where commercial fishing is off-limits and represents one of the boldest efforts to save coral reef habitat. Other reserves are being designated around the world, but it might not make a difference if we continue our present course of living. How can we protect anything at home when we are destroying something completely remote and on the other side of the world?
Yet, how can I enjoy something so vast, so beautiful, so powerful if the human race cannot respect and appreciate how important it is to our survival, and not ruin it like the many areas of land which we have already destroyed. Perhaps the most beautiful and pristine parts of the ocean are the coral reefs, which are, biologically, the richest systems in the world, yet cover less than half of the oceans' area. There are some reefs that are remote enough to supply us with reference points against which to measure environmental change and serve as a blueprint for conservation, such as Kingman Reef, a few thousand miles south of Hawaii .
An estimated 50 reefs of this pristine condition exist today with the remaining coral reef areas suffering badly. Corals are slow growers, taking decades to achieve a fraction of their current size. So don't be an ignorant tourist and walk across coral reefs killing everything you step on or break up corals to take home as trinkets from your vacation. Without corals we would not be able to enjoy certain seafood delicacies sustained by the coral. Also, a good portion of our medical supplies and studies comes from coral reefs and the organisms inhabiting them. Killing them is killing us.
A healthy reef includes various and lush corals covering the seabed, crystal clear water, and large predators. Overfishing of large predatory fish unleashes population booms of their smaller prey fish followed by blooms of microbes. Microbes may include tiny organisms such as dinoflagellates, which cause the famous red tides that suffocate all life in the part of the ocean where they occur.
We have seen this effect of disappearing larger fish and the increase in numbers of smaller fish and microbes worldwide. With a drop in large fish population number, microbe populations explode adding to coral degradation and eventual death of the reef.
There is hope for some areas, especially in the Pacific. We can forget about the Gulf of Mexico. As long as the casinos and ports continue to emerge and grow, the ships will continue to run, the water will stay cloudy and polluted and organic life will be destroyed. In contrast to the other side of the world, the largest marine reserve in the world is comparable in size with California and was established by the Kiribati nation of tiny islands in the central Pacific. It is a 158,000 square-mile reserve where commercial fishing is off-limits and represents one of the boldest efforts to save coral reef habitat. Other reserves are being designated around the world, but it might not make a difference if we continue our present course of living. How can we protect anything at home when we are destroying something completely remote and on the other side of the world?
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