[Coral-List] Reef Check Declaration

[Cori Kane]

To respond to all the scientist concerns on the Declaration of Reef Rights:

We at Reef Check are all scientists; the Declaration is not intended to halt
science as a whole or to position ourselves to be against scientific
collecting.  If you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, the
scientific diving community is miniscule compared to the recreational
community.  The purpose of the declaration is to aid a grassroots movement
among recreational divers to become aware of things that they are doing that
may harm the reef. As a result of this declaration, the hope is to raise
awareness and simple efforts people can do on their next fun dive to
minimize impact and help conserve the reefs they are paying to dive on.

Scientists in general are very particular about the collection processes and
the specifics of what they are collecting.  If we went about trashing the
reef we wouldn't have jobs for much longer.  And for the small amount of
organisms we take, we are trying to bring about knowledge for the future
conservation of these organisms.  But the majority of recreational divers do
not have that knowledge, and may not think anything of grabbing chunks of
staghorn, standing on a plate acropora, or collecting rare species because
they are aesthetically pleasing.  I mean, do any of you go around collecting
corals or fish or inverts to simply place on your bookshelf or desk while on
a recreational dive?  These are the kinds of impacts we are attempting to
minimize by circulating the Declaration.

Corinne Kane
REEF CHECK FOUNDATION
Program Manager
PO Box 1057, 17575 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-1057
Office: 1-310-230-2371
E-mail: ckane at reefcheck.org
www.ReefCheck.org