Death of the Coral Reef in the Fla Keys
- Thread starter beth
- Start date
steamboat1569
Member
Your absolutely right, Beth. The quest for the almighty dollar is still the direction the world is going.
And yes, Jamie, the sky is falling. Remember, we have a few million tons of spacecraft orbiting our earth, which will eventually be coming down. A piece of space-lab, back in the 1970's, struck a house in Australia.
And yes, Jamie, the sky is falling. Remember, we have a few million tons of spacecraft orbiting our earth, which will eventually be coming down. A piece of space-lab, back in the 1970's, struck a house in Australia.
m1rodrig
Member
It's funny how they ban Jet Ski's to protect the environment and waters but allow a boat with oil to be sunk.Weren't all the fluids drained?Who screwed up?And who will be held accountable if it was me who did that I guarantee I would have to sell my house to pay for the fines.And aren't the natural oil seepages from the ocean floor bvery far away from the reefs in deep water?
the infamous sea cucumber
Member
I don’t entirely agree with you Beth. Although money plays a large part of it, science can and does have the ability to change things. The reason many marine scientists are out there is to look after the environment. Little thing do help (aquaculture/mariculture started out as a little thing.) Admittedly, they are sometimes profit motivated, but scientist developed them with the environment in mind. The coral reef system is just like the tropical rainforest. It has high in diversity of life, and with potential chemicals that have both properties for healing and beauty. How stupid is our country to let them be destroyed. They make so much damn money on pharmaceuticals that they should be chomping at the bit to save them.... not to mention tourism. Although the environment is usually looked over in politics, occasionally people are made aware of scientific data that wakes them up. Unfortunately it is the rare government (and people) that really is motivated to changes things. It can be done though; the Japanese did it. They went being one of the most polluted countries in the world, to a country with massive environmental reforms in a year. Those where many land based reforms sadly. I’m just saying that money isn't the only thing that changes things. If enough people get pissed, that works too. I for one am pissed.
byrself
Member
beth is not totally wrong about politics and money over the environment. i live in louisiana, which is well known for corrupt politics, and here they are trying to make it illegal to change out or alter your car's computer, in search of better performance tuning. BUT, there are diesel engines, and old junker cars on the road every day that are worse off. the computer testing will be done when inspection stickers are given, and only affects 96 and newer cars, mainly hondas. HONDAS? yeah, there's a real polluter for you. if your car doesn't pass, no sticker. and the chemical plants around here are smoking and stinking up the air i have to breath 24/7. tap water supplies are found to be unhealthy on a regular basis, and there's even a trailer park out here that's next to a plant (dow chemical), that found a chemical in the drinking water that is suspected to have leaked from the chem plant, and they aren't even able to sue them from what i understand. i believe they knew there was a problem because of people who lived there were having babies with birth defects... what's up with that?
prime examples of what beth said... this is just the tip of the iceberg though.
what about the post i saw on here a couple months back, about an article about countries being ALLOWED to dispose of radioactive waste, RIGHT INTO THE OCEAN?? what's the scientific thinking on that one??? i don't know either. $ound$ like politic$ at it$ fine$t....
prime examples of what beth said... this is just the tip of the iceberg though.
what about the post i saw on here a couple months back, about an article about countries being ALLOWED to dispose of radioactive waste, RIGHT INTO THE OCEAN?? what's the scientific thinking on that one??? i don't know either. $ound$ like politic$ at it$ fine$t....
the infamous sea cucumber
Member
I agree with you....politics and money plays a huge (mostly detrimental) role, but it's not the only way things get done. People are just dumb, but its gonna come back and bite us all in the keister.
kris walker
Active Member
Good thread. Well then, seems like we've got to do 2 things:
1. make the FL Keys a snorkeler's paradise (make snorkeler tourist $$ the major source of income)
2. ask our LFS for aquacultured corals/fish instead of wild stuff
The Earth is not dead. There are parts that are dieing. There are parts that are growing. There are parts that are just surviving. All is not lost. We can make a difference. The right approach understanding how mankind works, patience, and persistence are the keys.
kris
1. make the FL Keys a snorkeler's paradise (make snorkeler tourist $$ the major source of income)
2. ask our LFS for aquacultured corals/fish instead of wild stuff
The Earth is not dead. There are parts that are dieing. There are parts that are growing. There are parts that are just surviving. All is not lost. We can make a difference. The right approach understanding how mankind works, patience, and persistence are the keys.
kris
byrself
Member
i do honestly think, (and hope), that in the future all marine animals sold to aquarist will be tank reared. i don't see any reason why it wouldn't, other than this hobby being so new. it's gaining more popularity now, so more people are into it, and the demand will outweigh the supply one day, so it's inevitable imo.
we can all raise awareness, either by writing a letter to your senator (as many times as possible), or writing letters to your local newspapers (first amendment rights). hell, you can even write comments to newspapers online in most cases, i know i do. i'm not saying we all have to be greenpeace supporters or anything, but if "voters" can make enough noise about something, action is sure to always follow. <img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" />
we can all raise awareness, either by writing a letter to your senator (as many times as possible), or writing letters to your local newspapers (first amendment rights). hell, you can even write comments to newspapers online in most cases, i know i do. i'm not saying we all have to be greenpeace supporters or anything, but if "voters" can make enough noise about something, action is sure to always follow. <img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" />
kelly
Member
Interesting post. Writing goverment officials could be the worst thing possible. If you try to ban the harvesting of live rock, fish, coral or any other thing we wish to have in our tanks, it will most likely be the doom of our hobby.
The easiest way for the government to stop these practices is to ban or make the owning of saltwater fish & reef tanks illegal. If this was done in each country, the trade would almost completely stop. Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.
Education is our best tool. Harvesting can be done will little impact to the reefs around the world if done right. Mining coral reefs, yes mining for roads, etc. in other countries does more damage than you can imagine. We need use common sense in the industry.
Coral farms need to be extremely large to supply the amount of corals consumed by hobbyists, and I applaud those that are doing so. There are a few sites that actually add tons of rock to the ocean "seeding" it and then sell it back to us. This is conservation that will help us keep from destroying our natural resources.
In some island countries through out the world, this may be one of their main resources for income (harvesting live rocks, corals and fish). The exporters do not care about the reefs, only the money that can be made from it. This is where the education part comes in to play. If we refuse to buy that which destroys our reefs, they have no product to move. But the problem is which of the companies offer product which does not directly destroy our precious coral reefs.
The easiest way for the government to stop these practices is to ban or make the owning of saltwater fish & reef tanks illegal. If this was done in each country, the trade would almost completely stop. Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.
Education is our best tool. Harvesting can be done will little impact to the reefs around the world if done right. Mining coral reefs, yes mining for roads, etc. in other countries does more damage than you can imagine. We need use common sense in the industry.
Coral farms need to be extremely large to supply the amount of corals consumed by hobbyists, and I applaud those that are doing so. There are a few sites that actually add tons of rock to the ocean "seeding" it and then sell it back to us. This is conservation that will help us keep from destroying our natural resources.
In some island countries through out the world, this may be one of their main resources for income (harvesting live rocks, corals and fish). The exporters do not care about the reefs, only the money that can be made from it. This is where the education part comes in to play. If we refuse to buy that which destroys our reefs, they have no product to move. But the problem is which of the companies offer product which does not directly destroy our precious coral reefs.
kris walker
Active Member
Just ask and purchase accordingly. Seems a no-brainer.
kris
kris
byrself
Member
my replies are based on the contamination issue, not reef aquariums. if it weren't for my reef aquarium, i probably wouldn't care too much about the coral reefs in the keys..but to purposefully pollute the ocean water, enough to directly affect living corals on natural reefs, IS a governmental issue. there are already laws in place that protect the reefs from the aquarium hobby destruction, such as the laws around florida coast that prevent the removal of natural live rock. that's why there are live rock farmers, such as tampabaysaltwater.com, and others.
my concerns lie with polluting the ocean to the extent of never having any natural coral reefs left. especially from septic systems. that should be handled on a municipal level, or county, or statewide for that matter.
taking marine animals from the ocean for aquariums is not an entirely destructive practice. most fish are food for bigger fish anyway. most corals are very good at reproduction. fish are nowadays being tank reared, and i know for a fact that a couple of my corals were bought as frags. that right there is making a difference. instead of two specimens taken from the ocean, they both really came from the same thing. i'd bet any one of us have at least one coral that came to us as a frag from another, not straight out the ocean.
20 years ago, i bet no one could even make that claim... that's progress on a hobby level right there.
my concerns lie with polluting the ocean to the extent of never having any natural coral reefs left. especially from septic systems. that should be handled on a municipal level, or county, or statewide for that matter.
taking marine animals from the ocean for aquariums is not an entirely destructive practice. most fish are food for bigger fish anyway. most corals are very good at reproduction. fish are nowadays being tank reared, and i know for a fact that a couple of my corals were bought as frags. that right there is making a difference. instead of two specimens taken from the ocean, they both really came from the same thing. i'd bet any one of us have at least one coral that came to us as a frag from another, not straight out the ocean.
20 years ago, i bet no one could even make that claim... that's progress on a hobby level right there.
Taking marine organisms, live rock and live sand from the ocean in the USA is illegal. So we go to other parts of the world to get it.
The vote is what counts and in terms of the Fla Keys issue, it is, IMO, a loosing battle. Key West, in resent yrs, paid millions to build a docking area with surrounding “high end” tourist traps just to bring the cruise boats here for the tourist dollar. You think they the business community is going allow that to go down the tubes just because the cruise ships “may” be dumping silt on the reefs? No. By the time that it is “confirmed” that the silt is burying the reefs, it will be too late. Just like the bacteria blooms on the elks....as I said, this was said way back in the 70’s! Only in the past yr since the beaches [tourist dollars] where closed for several mos did the governments decide it was time to do something. The price is that now everyone in the Lower Keys has extra charges tacked on to their water bill to pay for the new drain pipes. Who is going to be supporting “save the reef” initiatives when the Fla Keys has one of the highest cost of living ratios in the country and the citizens know that they are going to be “paying” for any fixes to environmental issues? Divers bring some money, but for the most, this is insignificant. The tourist dollar is a driving force behind the many woes of the Fla Keys.
Another theory on silt covering the reef, though, is that the dust from Africa’s desert blows over here and dumps sand on the reefs. It isn’t bad enough that the African desert sends us hurricanes??
The vote is what counts and in terms of the Fla Keys issue, it is, IMO, a loosing battle. Key West, in resent yrs, paid millions to build a docking area with surrounding “high end” tourist traps just to bring the cruise boats here for the tourist dollar. You think they the business community is going allow that to go down the tubes just because the cruise ships “may” be dumping silt on the reefs? No. By the time that it is “confirmed” that the silt is burying the reefs, it will be too late. Just like the bacteria blooms on the elks....as I said, this was said way back in the 70’s! Only in the past yr since the beaches [tourist dollars] where closed for several mos did the governments decide it was time to do something. The price is that now everyone in the Lower Keys has extra charges tacked on to their water bill to pay for the new drain pipes. Who is going to be supporting “save the reef” initiatives when the Fla Keys has one of the highest cost of living ratios in the country and the citizens know that they are going to be “paying” for any fixes to environmental issues? Divers bring some money, but for the most, this is insignificant. The tourist dollar is a driving force behind the many woes of the Fla Keys.
Another theory on silt covering the reef, though, is that the dust from Africa’s desert blows over here and dumps sand on the reefs. It isn’t bad enough that the African desert sends us hurricanes??
maui
Member
A possible reason for the oil leak could be the fact that this boat sank about 6 hours early. Although this doesn't help the fact that this ship is polluteing the ocean, it could be the reason that it's happening. I believe the ship opens up for diving later on this week. If everything would have gone as planned this would have an amazing dive.
Well as of today, they still have not determined the source of the leak, but it seems to be contained within the immediate vicinity of the ship...however, its going to wash off somewhere at some time.
Luckily they got the ship on its side so that amateur divers have some access, otherwise, it was just going to be a site for professional divers and a good fishing hole. Ironically the Titanic sank perfectly
2 miles down in the frigid North Atlantic, and this ship, even with a million dollars “sunk” into its “sinking”, couldn’t go down right. It is a shame, but I’m sure the fish won’t mind the mishap! LOL A resort hotel for fish in the Keys, it is.
Luckily they got the ship on its side so that amateur divers have some access, otherwise, it was just going to be a site for professional divers and a good fishing hole. Ironically the Titanic sank perfectly
2 miles down in the frigid North Atlantic, and this ship, even with a million dollars “sunk” into its “sinking”, couldn’t go down right. It is a shame, but I’m sure the fish won’t mind the mishap! LOL A resort hotel for fish in the Keys, it is.