Death of the Coral Reef in the Fla Keys
- Thread starter beth
- Start date
m1rodrig
Member
Beth this is truly horrible,I enjoy diving in the Key's and think it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to.I for one am always very careful about where my fins are and make sure I am not killing something by stepping on it.I wish there was some way I could contribute to help these corals they are magnificent.The pollution and insensitivity of humans will contribute to the
destruction of such a beautiful place little by little.
destruction of such a beautiful place little by little.
byrself
Member
here you go..quoted, couldn't link it..
JUNE 15, 21:20 ET
Sunken Ship Leaks Oil in Florida
KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — A retired Navy ship sunk to the ocean floor to be a marine sanctuary is leaking oil, but the leak is too small to cause environmental damage, officials said.
The residue trail is about six feet wide and 150 yards long and drifting east, said George Garrett, Monroe County's director of marine resources.
Work is under way to stop the leak and report it to the U.S. Coast Guard. The oil could be hydraulic fluid or gasoline, he said.
The Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot decommissioned landing ship dock, sank upside-down May 17, hours before an attempt to scuttle it to create an artificial reef.
A salvage team and volunteer divers finished rotating the ship Monday. It sits on its side in 130 feet of water six miles off Key Largo.
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<hr></blockquote>
JUNE 15, 21:20 ET
Sunken Ship Leaks Oil in Florida
KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — A retired Navy ship sunk to the ocean floor to be a marine sanctuary is leaking oil, but the leak is too small to cause environmental damage, officials said.
The residue trail is about six feet wide and 150 yards long and drifting east, said George Garrett, Monroe County's director of marine resources.
Work is under way to stop the leak and report it to the U.S. Coast Guard. The oil could be hydraulic fluid or gasoline, he said.
The Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot decommissioned landing ship dock, sank upside-down May 17, hours before an attempt to scuttle it to create an artificial reef.
A salvage team and volunteer divers finished rotating the ship Monday. It sits on its side in 130 feet of water six miles off Key Largo.
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<hr></blockquote>
A few wks ago a navy ship was sunk in the Upper Fla Keys. Divers may have heard of this. The idea was to create a divers' haven for man-made reef. Well it turned into a disaster when the ship did not go down upright. Now it appears that the ship is leaking oil! Another hit for the reefs. How come this ship still has oil in it??
I seriously doubt that the reefs will be around a decade from now. Just in the past 10 years it has been so negetively effected by human handiwork. The fact that the Keys population has been dumping sewage in the ocean is not something new....I remember hearing this for many, many yrs. I grew up here knowing that.
I seriously doubt that the reefs will be around a decade from now. Just in the past 10 years it has been so negetively effected by human handiwork. The fact that the Keys population has been dumping sewage in the ocean is not something new....I remember hearing this for many, many yrs. I grew up here knowing that.
hunterdaddy
Member
Just a little FYI.
My father and I invest much in oil stock.
There are those who have proposed and have some good data that supposes that more oil seeps into the ocean from natrual faults and such then is pumped by oil wells all over the world combined.
The idea is that the ocean just breaks it down.
Also states that oil might not be a fossil fuel but that the earth actualy produces it. Kind of like lava to make it easy to understand.
Anyone intrested in learning more can send me an email (no attachments pls) and I will find where the article is and let u know.
My father and I invest much in oil stock.
There are those who have proposed and have some good data that supposes that more oil seeps into the ocean from natrual faults and such then is pumped by oil wells all over the world combined.
The idea is that the ocean just breaks it down.
Also states that oil might not be a fossil fuel but that the earth actualy produces it. Kind of like lava to make it easy to understand.
Anyone intrested in learning more can send me an email (no attachments pls) and I will find where the article is and let u know.
I am aware of that theory. I am also aware that, ironically, oceanic oil rigs become thriving ecosystems for marine life. But in this situation, a naval vessel targeted to become a man-made reef was sunk [which turned into a calamity of errors in and of itself] while it still had oil in it! That is just plain crazy! Just like dumping sewage in the ocean near a reef is nuts.
steamboat1569
Member
Natural seepage of oil surely does occur, but when a manmade spill or accident occurs, it is a concentrated spill in a concentrated area, and is much more damaging than natural seepage. Gasoline is not naturally occuring in nature and is a mixture of about 150 manmade chemicals produced from oil.
And as far as I know, Human fecal matter does not come from natural faults in nature. It comes from dumping of septic tanks and septic tank leakage.
Sorry, had to speak up on this one.
And as far as I know, Human fecal matter does not come from natural faults in nature. It comes from dumping of septic tanks and septic tank leakage.
Sorry, had to speak up on this one.
We have had open septic tank systems throughout the Keys since who knows when....In fact, I know of one run down motel in the Keys that was closed down last week due to an open cesspool system. The Keys being basically nothing more than an ancient dead reef itself is extremely porous. We are at near sea level, if not at sea level throughout the islands. Most places in the Keys aren’t even connected to modern sewage systems. Most are ceptic tank systems, many of which are 30+ yrs old. [Obviously, most ceptic systems have long since outlived whatever usefulness they had].
Talk of damage to the reefs due to raw sewage going out into the ocean started in the 70’s, for goodness sakes, and now they are just admitting to bacteria is cause? Last year they closed down all the beaches because of fecal bacterial! A few mos ago we had the mysterious “black waters” [excessive algae bloom]. Its a sad and devastating joke. I haven’t been out to the reef in 12 yrs just because I remember what it used to be like and don't want to see what it has become. If you have never seen a coral reef, then I can only describe it as literally “out of this world”. When you enter the water with your mask on, you feel like you just left earth and entered an entirely new world. A very beautiful world that is unmatched in its wonder.
Talk of damage to the reefs due to raw sewage going out into the ocean started in the 70’s, for goodness sakes, and now they are just admitting to bacteria is cause? Last year they closed down all the beaches because of fecal bacterial! A few mos ago we had the mysterious “black waters” [excessive algae bloom]. Its a sad and devastating joke. I haven’t been out to the reef in 12 yrs just because I remember what it used to be like and don't want to see what it has become. If you have never seen a coral reef, then I can only describe it as literally “out of this world”. When you enter the water with your mask on, you feel like you just left earth and entered an entirely new world. A very beautiful world that is unmatched in its wonder.
nacl-h2o
Active Member
The way the gov works, they will probably wait until it's to late before getting those turning the reefs into a sewer to stop.
Where the oil naturaly seeps out the enviornment has compinsated, when WE spill it, it's in areas that can't handle it, causing enviornmental damage.
Where the oil naturaly seeps out the enviornment has compinsated, when WE spill it, it's in areas that can't handle it, causing enviornmental damage.
steamboat1569
Member
When growing up, I had a Big Brother from the Big Brothers Association. We took a trip through Tampa, The Everglades, and on to Key West. I was 12 and we drove the entire way. I believe this was around 1974. It was the most memorable experiences of my life, and have always wanted to show my family how beautiful it is.
I sincerely hope that the government officials are pushed into cleaning the Keys up. I would like my son to see it as I did.
I sincerely hope that the government officials are pushed into cleaning the Keys up. I would like my son to see it as I did.
steamboat1569
Member
Beth and slick both have good points.
I do not know about SWF.com's practices, but I prefer to get captive bred fish and corals. I am not saying that everything that is in my tank is captive bred, but have been looking at quite a few coral farms, and have thought of doing the same thing myself someday. Coral farming is coming into its own, and suggest we take advantage of it.
And yes, we should all write the officials, as a national effort. The depletion of the coral reefs will eventuall affect all of us, if not now, in the future.
I do not know about SWF.com's practices, but I prefer to get captive bred fish and corals. I am not saying that everything that is in my tank is captive bred, but have been looking at quite a few coral farms, and have thought of doing the same thing myself someday. Coral farming is coming into its own, and suggest we take advantage of it.
And yes, we should all write the officials, as a national effort. The depletion of the coral reefs will eventuall affect all of us, if not now, in the future.
Well, there are reforms going on now in the Keys to require people to get appropriate sewage disposal, but, its too late.
Besides, that is not the only problems hitting the reef. The resent influx of cruise ships is dumping tons of silt on the reef, also killing it off.
Besides, that is not the only problems hitting the reef. The resent influx of cruise ships is dumping tons of silt on the reef, also killing it off.
steamboat1569
Member
I am sure that there are numerous issues affecting the reefs in that area. It just seems odd that there were scientific research groups set up since the 70's and before. It almost seems that they were set up to document the death of a reef rather than help it out.
Can anything be done? Is it really to late.
Can anything be done? Is it really to late.
cyslyde
Member
Unfortunatly your right too much of the earths most beautiful places are being systematically destroyed. Although we may not intentionally do this, the damage has been done, and unfortunatly there are too many people out there who just don't care. even if the US does put sanctions to aid the coral reef's and stop their destructions, other countries need to follow, just because it is going in at england doesn't mean it only affects englands waters (just an example). The people of the world must become more responsible for thier actions, if they don't it's of no use to sit and complain, for the voices of the few can be outweighed by the shouts of many!
I personally will now do my best to asure everything that goes in my tank from now on is man-made or tank raised, so as not to deplete the natrul reefs arround the world. If more in our hobby would do this maybe we could make a difference.
just an opinion and a few thoughts
-=CY
p.s. hunter could you please send me those articles my E-mail is Cyslyde@yahoo.com Thanx
I personally will now do my best to asure everything that goes in my tank from now on is man-made or tank raised, so as not to deplete the natrul reefs arround the world. If more in our hobby would do this maybe we could make a difference.
just an opinion and a few thoughts
-=CY
p.s. hunter could you please send me those articles my E-mail is Cyslyde@yahoo.com Thanx
the infamous sea cucumber
Member
Finally, a conservation/reef awareness post. Seems like this is the one thing this board has been missing. Thank you Beth. It is so sad to see coral reefs being wasted away. We know so very little about land conservation, and yet we know even less about marine ecosystems. The tragic thing is, we treat the ocean like a landfill, and although it can be forgiving....we have no idea how forgiving it is. Obviously, we have pushed the limit in the florida keys. I've read many articles that state that the entire lot of coral reefs in the gulf are in severe danger. Beaching from warming waters due to global warming and what not, horribly damaging dynoflagellates ,phytoplankton, bacteria..."red tide" like problems, and over fishing/coral harvesting all create major problems. Seems like we should be speaking out if we want to visit something other then our own tanks.
I think our hobby/industry should create an example. Even though the small amount of harvest for the trade dont devistate organism populations by themselves, i still think we should be setting a standard. We should carefully choose fish that are maricultured only. Even the popular yellow tang hasn't been aquacultered. The trade pulls 200,000+ of these fish out of hawiian waters annually. I've read accounts that there used to be litterally streams of fish in hawiian waters, and now there are many, many less. Probably not completely the trades fault, but who knows. I'm starting to regret some of my previous fish choices already. I guess I am a big proponent of aquaculture and coral propagation. Hats off to those who participate.
I think our hobby/industry should create an example. Even though the small amount of harvest for the trade dont devistate organism populations by themselves, i still think we should be setting a standard. We should carefully choose fish that are maricultured only. Even the popular yellow tang hasn't been aquacultered. The trade pulls 200,000+ of these fish out of hawiian waters annually. I've read accounts that there used to be litterally streams of fish in hawiian waters, and now there are many, many less. Probably not completely the trades fault, but who knows. I'm starting to regret some of my previous fish choices already. I guess I am a big proponent of aquaculture and coral propagation. Hats off to those who participate.
The issues involving taking care of the earth, or the oceans, or this particular reef for that matter, aren’t a matter of scientist studying or even having the knowledge or info to do something about it, its all politics and economics. Bucks win out over environment.