[Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation

Douglas Fenner douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
Tue Dec 18 17:18:29 EST 2012


The restrictions imposed by ESA (Endangered Species Act) on imported corals
will only affect those listed out of the 66 species proposed, out of over
790 reef coral species in the world.  The other 724+ species will be
unaffected.  How does that make it so that studies of coral aquaculture
can't be done??  This proposed ESA listing also doesn't affect the many
other reef species that are imported which can be aquacultured, such as
fish, invertebrates, etc.

I continue to disagree with the view that exploitation of wild species will
cause the exploiters to value the natural ecosystem.  The incentive is in
fact to exploit, not protect.  Fisheries are a great example of this, the
economic incentive is to fish until it is no longer profitable to fish.  In
other words, fish until there are so few fish left that they are
economically extinct (though not biologically extinct).  Collecting corals
is a fishery, like collecting (=catching) tuna or any other fish.  The
Status Report on the 82 species petitioned points out that collecting for
the aquarium trade is one of the more minor threats to these species, as it
surely is.  But all mortality contributes to the decline of a species.

I suggest that non-consumptive uses have a greater incentive for conserving
natural ecosystems than exploitation, particularly when the use depends on
high quality ecosystem.  Diving can fit that bill, when divers can tell the
difference between living and dead reef, and because they love really big
fish, and lots of fish.  Aquaculture does have the potential to avoid the
exploitation of wild stocks, which would be good.  I am told that at least
in the past, some or many aquaculture projects actually were grow-outs,
where wild corals continued to be collected, broken into fragments which
were then grown and exported.  The advantage of aquarium-grown corals in
the country where the coral is sold is that no additional wild collecting
is necessary.

Does anybody have a reference to the "new study" referred to in this
article?


Cheers,  Doug


On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 8:26 AM, Jon Skrapits
<jon at treasurecoastcorals.com>wrote:

> Agreed Steve,
>
> I was being sarcastic about the parrot and trying to show that they are a
> benefit but at a quick glance it may seem as though they are destructive.
>
> Check this out.
>
>
> http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/finding-a-place-for-coral-farms-in-a-changing-ocean/
>
> How can we develop scientific studies on the benefits of aquaculture if we
> never pursue that avenue due to restrictions.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 2:21 PM, Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Jon,
> >
> > In response to your side note:
> >
> > **
> > "If limiting actions that deplete the ocean such as
> > harvesting coral to grow it, then why aren't we destroying parrot fish
> that
> > eat the coral? I blame them for the destruction of the reef".
> >
> > A paper by the Universities of Exeter and California Davis, published
> > November 1, 2007 in Nature explains that Parrotfish are now the sole
> > grazers of seaweed on many Caribbean reefs, but fishing has limited their
> > numbers. With insufficient Parrotfish grazing, corals are unable to
> > recover after major disturbances like hurricanes and become much less
> > healthy as a result. The paper argues that in order to secure a future
> > for coral reefs, particularly in light of the predicted impact of climate
> > change, Parrotfish need to be protected. The good news is that we can
> > take practical steps to protect Parrotfish and help reef regeneration. We
> > recommend a change in policy to establish controls over the use of fish
> > traps, which Parrotfish are particularly vulnerable to. We also call on
> > anyone who visits the Caribbean and sees Parrotfish on a restaurant menu
> to
> > voice their concern to the management.
> >
> > This research was published in Nature: vol 450, issue 7166.
> >
> > Regards,
> >   Steve
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > >From: Jon Skrapits **
> > >Sent: Dec 18, 2012 10:24 AM
> > >To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > >Subject: [Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation
> > >
> > >I looked over the criteria the best I could. I apologize if I
> > misunderstood
> > >but it seems as though the driving factor for determining the listing
> of a
> > >coral is by counting the number of animals distributed in an ecosystem.
> > >Then many different hypotheses are thrown out to state a personal case
> or
> > >blame a general global phenomenon or "problem." I never heard more
> > specific
> > >questions such as these.
> > >
> > >What does an acropora(or other corals) look like when it is subjected to
> > >low pH?
> > >How about inadequate flow?(How can a fragmentation survive if you place
> it
> > >improperly?)
> > >How about elevated levels of nitrates?(does it even affect them?)
> > >Phosphates?
> > >Insufficient calcium levels?
> > >What about the overall chemistry of seawater when Magnesium is low?
> > >Temp fluctuations?
> > >Effects of a changing ecosystem causing a lack of food for corals?
> > >Do corals really need fish or is it the other way around?( I have many
> > >systems w/out fish and pleny of corals)
> > >
> > >These and many other questions must be answered every hour in
> aquaculture
> > >and guessing wrong causes mass deaths in some cases. Much can be learned
> > >from this.
> > >
> > >
> > >On a side note.... If limiting actions that deplete the ocean such as
> > >harvesting coral to grow it, then why aren't we destroying parrot fish
> > that
> > >eat the coral? I blame them for the destruction of the reefs.
> > >
> > >As I have said many times, gov. regulation will only kill the reefs.
> > Making
> > >it a profitable venture will save them. Educate not regulate. If we
> can't
> > >agree on what is killing the reefs and change our habits, the ocean will
> > >not improve and the corals will sit on the reef awaiting their demise.
> Are
> > >the oceans improving? What are we doing to improve that? Just ban
> > >havesting? That is the answer? I will collect as many species as
> possible
> > >to have a genetic pool of hearty corals that have been through
> > fluctuations
> > >and hopefully one day I can help or my kids can help to replant the
> ocean.
> > >I will watch the rest of mankind squabble over what they think is the
> > >problem as it worsens. Maybe we will knock off parrot fish as a last
> > resort
> > >if they are still alive.
> > >
> > >
> > >--
> > >Thanks,
> > >_______________________________________________
> > >Coral-List mailing list
> > >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> > **
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Thanks,
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>



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