[Coral-List] Struggling with ocean optimism

[Steve Mussman]

“This is not to diminish the enormous problems the ocean and coral reefs particularly face (they really are the canary in the environmental coal mine), but we need to do a better job of talking about solutions, particularly solutions that are being implemented and are now working”.  

Thanks for responding Nancy.  
I get it that all the negativity can be overwhelming at times, but here’s my concern.  
From what I can gather there’s not much going well for coral reefs these days. I certainly don’t see anything resembling a true solution being implemented unless you concede that natural coral reefs, as we have known them, are a thing of the past. It is my view that our only hope is to move more aggressively on the threats involved, including climate change. Maybe it is too late, but considering present conditions, we certainly can not continue to ignore the threats. Your article “Ocean Optimism” appeared in a dive industry periodical. How can we expect the dive industry to be part of any solution if it continues to avoid a narrative that clearly identifies the central problem and solutions involved? Of course, we should talk about positive developments too and I appreciate you pointing out a number of significant successes. They are real and meaningful, but meanwhile the canaries in the coal mine you alluded to continue to die off. This can’t possibly be reversed if we refuse to be candid and direct. I don’t see this as pessimism or doom and gloom, but as realism worth fighting for.  

Regards,  
Steve  




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On 3/1/18, 7:00 PM, Nancy Knowlton <knowltonn at gmail.com> wrote:  

From: Nancy Knowlton <knowltonn at gmail.com>  
To: Paul Muir <paul.muir at qm.qld.gov.au>  
Cc: Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>, coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>  
Subject: [Coral-List] Struggling with ocean optimism  
Date: March 1, 2018 at 7:00:15 PM EST  
As one of the people behind #OceanOptimism (and now #EarthOptimism) I encourage people to use these hashtags to highlight and find examples of things that are moving in the right direction. I have to say that I have been continually amazed by the number of marine conservation professionals who are unaware of the successes that have been achieved, even in their own areas of expertise. I also regularly meet students who tell me that they almost gave up on conservation as a profession because it was so depressing. This is not to diminish the enormous problems the ocean and coral reefs particularly face (they really are the canary in the environmental coal mine), but we need to do a better job of talking about solutions, particularly solutions that are being implemented and are now working. I also find that talking about success often diffuses partisan arguments about policy.  

A recent analysis relevant to this discussion is a great article on recovery of shark populations by David Shiffman http://www.southernfriedscience.com/have-you-heard-the-good-news-about-shark-populations-shark-population-increases-are-cause-for-oceanoptimism/  

Cheers, Nancy Knowlton  

On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 5:34 PM, Paul Muir <paul.muir at qm.qld.gov.au> wrote:  
In terms of reef optimism the joke: 'don't worry it will all be ok in 50000 years!' works for me. I use this quite a a bit on the dive deck after seeing yet another heavily bleached reef or revisiting a once perfect reef that has been heavily degraded. It sounds a bit trite but it does put things into some sort of perspective.  

Sent from my iPhone  

On 27 Feb 2018, at 4:49 am, "Steve Mussman" <sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:  

Dear Listers,  
Coming from the perspective of someone involved for many years in the diving industry, I am struggling with the concept of ocean optimism and would like some feedback from you, the experts on coral reef ecology. I understand that tourism is an important economic driver in many tropical regions around the world and that too much doom and gloom is bad for business, but it seems to me that for far too long the major threats to coral reefs have been downplayed industry-wide and that this approach has therefore unwittingly contributed to decades of inaction. How can we hope to work towards real-world solutions if we can’t bring ourselves to openly discuss policy positions that could effectively address the fundamental problems involved? Most recently, I have come across two excellent, thoughtful and well written articles that reflect the position of the diving industry on the current state of our oceans and coral reefs in particular. Please consider reading these articles and providing any commentary you consider appropriate.  

http://www.alertdiver.com/Northern_GBR  

http://www.alertdiver.com/Ocean_Optimism  

Regards,  
Steve Mussman  



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