[Coral-List] Fwd: Re: Could Restricting Access to Reefs Be Counterproductive?
Charles Delbeek
delbeek at waquarium.org
Sun Mar 26 18:00:15 EST 2006
>At 04:04 PM 3/23/2006, you wrote:
>
>"Unless we show people their magnificence, how will they
>know? People have no reason to care
>about these things in the ocean unless those of us who know something about
>coral reefs share our knowledge. I think the goal should be to take your
>friends on a reef vacation to teach them about reefs. Begin by explaining
>why your friends must not touch the coral. Describe how long it takes a
>colony to grow, why reefs are important to the ecosystem, and explain that
>corals are sensitive to temperature changes and nutrients. Take a slate and
>pencil on a dive or snorkel trip and point to and identify critters that
>live in/on/around the reef. Maybe this will get more people excited about
>and behind our goals of conservation and protection of the reefs. While
>some reefs may need restricted access to improve local infrastructures or to
>protect seed banks, restricting visitor access to all reefs would greatly
>hinder the learning process. "
>
>Thanks,
>Selena
>_______________________________
>
>This may be somewhat controversial to some, but, there are thousands
>of marine aquarium hobbyists around the world who have living,
>thriving, growing "coral reefs" in their homes. The vast majority of
>these people also have an extremely well developed environmental
>awareness of the plights of corals reefs. Many of these people have
>never been to a real coral reef, yet they have a deep seated empathy
>for the plight of these systems. Many of these people also act as
>educators, educating family and friends alike on coral reef ecology,
>many host school groups in their homes several times a year. These
>people ARE getting the message of coral reefs out there and ARE
>raising public awareness for people who will never have the
>opportunity to see a living coral reef in the wild. Finally, many of
>these aquarists take great pride in the fact that their "coral
>reefs" consist almost entirely of aquacultured specimens, some even
>home grown and traded with other hobbyists.
>
>I would urge those who are not aware of this "resource" to check out
>online forums such as reefcentral.com and reefs.org, both of which
>have Tank of the Month sections ... you might be shocked and amazed
>to see what people are accomplishing when it comes to growing and
>propagating corals in closed systems, 1000's of miles/km from the sea.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc.
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