[Coral-List] NOAA FISHERIES SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON CARIBBEAN CORAL STATUS

[Gene Shinn]

I responded to the question of listing Acropora in the Marine 
Pollution Bulletin vol. 49 (2004) p 531-533.
The basic question remains: How can we protect it and what are we 
protecting it from? The cause of Acropora demise remains 
scientifically unknown. It is presently impossible to explain why 
Staghorn coral is thriving off Broward county, Florida (where about 2 
million residents live within a mile of the reefs) while at the same 
time it is dying in the Marine Sanctuary off the Florida Keys where 
there are less than 100,000 residents living more than 3 miles from 
Acropora reefs.  Until these questions have been answered this seems 
a needless waste of tax payers money that will lead to numerous legal 
challenges that could seriously disrupt the US economy and tie up 
courts for years. E. A. Shinn
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No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
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http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/african_dust/  		                       |
E. A. Shinn
email  eshinn at usgs.gov
USGS Center for Coastal Geology     |
600 4th St. South                   | voice  (727) 803-8747 x3030
St.Petersburg, FL  33701            | fax    (727) 803-2032
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