[Coral-List] No oil rigs in Belize World Heritage sites
Eugene Shinn
eshinn at marine.usf.edu
Mon May 9 12:10:08 EDT 2011
There are around 4,000 oil rigs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Ask
anyone who fishes out there and they will tell you that is where the
fish are (to quote a famous marine biologists, "its a symphony of
life down there"). In addition, because of inter connecting pipe
lines shrimpers do not drag their nets over most of this area so it
also serves as a shrimp sanctuary. Do some checking and you will find
that the by-catch for commercial shrimping is approximately 10 pounds
for every one pound of Shrimp. We are talking literally many many
tons of shrimp and even more by-catch (including juvenile Red
Snapper). Maybe the northern Gulf of Mexico should be proposed as a
World Heritage Site! It could be the most effective MPA in the world.
Gene
--
No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
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E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
Marine Science Center (room 204)
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
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