[Coral-List] 82 Corals Status Review under the US Endangered Species Act

[Eugene Shinn]

There can be little argument against protecting corals from 
anthropogenic sources when the sources are verifiable such as the 
"usual suspects" dredging etc. They can be controlled and monitored. 
It is different when other mysterious anthropogenic or natural 
sources that are not easily verifiable wipe-out large reef areas 
throughout the Caribbean. More ESA regulatory bureaucracy just builds 
additional barriers to research and diverts the funding needed to 
discover and eliminate those sources of coral demise. Such additional 
bureaucracy also pits major agencies and their divisions against each 
other. What is happening in the Florida Keys may be partly 
anthropogenic; especially in near shore areas where coral patch reefs 
were recently killed by the cold front in 2010. Fortunately a branch 
of NOAA  (Dept. of Commerce) and yet another Federal Agency (National 
Park Service) already protects all corals in the Florida Keys and 
nearby Dry Tortugas yet demise continues as I have been documenting 
for over 50 years. <http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/334> There are 
hopeful signs that Acropora cervicornis is recovering in the 
Tortugas, however, it will likely be temporary because coring has 
shown it was never a significant reef builder there. However, father 
out in the greater Caribbean the slow death continues, including 
places where humans are few, and far between, and extreme coral 
killing cold fronts do not occur. Listing will do nothing for those 
corals or those in Florida for that matter. The euphemism, "tools 
provided by ESA," mentioned by DeeVon I assume means more laws and 
regulations. If so that should really scare scientists and government 
agencies trying to do research on the causes of demise. Gene
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No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
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E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158---------------------------------- 
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