[Coral-List] Help Us Understand the Beauty of Coral Reefs

[Risk, Michael]

   I remember that workshop fairly well, despite the oceans of adult
   beverages.

   I recall endless blather about ranking of threats. Everyone had their
   own favorite culprit-one senior Australian coral taxonomists suggested
   that scientists taking coral samples should be included as a threat.
   (Having a lab full of dead corals I kept my mouth shut.)

   My abiding memory was when I suggested "Triage" for reefs, based on the
   policy of the French Army dealing with battlefield casualties. Divide
   them into three groups. Those that can hobble off to the aid station
   without aid, let them go. Those who will die no matter what heroic
   efforts are made-don't waste your time and resources. Let them die.
   Concentrate on the 3^rd group, those who will die without aid, but are
   likely to survive if helped. I had previously floated the triage idea
   at a Coastal Conference, but thought Miami would be a more receptive
   audience.

   As examples, I suggested:

   -parts of the GBR were probably OK, long as ag input doesn't ramp up.
   Leave them alone, but monitor.

   -some Indonesian reefs are severely stressed by sediments and
   sewage-these can be controlled, the techniques are out there-focus on
   examples like these.

   -the Florida Reef Tract? There's not enough money in the world to save
   it, given the population pressure and lack of political will. Let it
   go.

   Bob got quite hot at my proposal, and insisted that there was plenty of
   coral in Florida and I should pick a better example.

   I remember saying Bob, history will show which one of us is correct.
   (Not in any way to diminish the memory of a top scientist and friend.)

   Mike
     __________________________________________________________________

   From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
   Alina Szmant via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
   Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2023 9:37 AM
   To: Mark Tupper <mark.tupper at port.ac.uk>; Phillip Dustan
   <phil.dustan at gmail.com>
   Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
   Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Help Us Understand the Beauty of Coral Reefs

   Hello Mark:
   In 1993 I helped Bob Ginsburg with the Global Aspects of corals Reefs:
   Health, Hazards and History colloquium he organized at the University
   of Miami.  Researchers came from all over and presented their case
   studies.  On the 3rd day of the Colloquium there was a session about
   measures and policies that could be used to help save coral reefs and
   ecotourism was applauded by many as the solution for a number of
   reasons.  I clearly recall feeling alarmed at the prospect of millions
   of people flocking to thousands of hotels built along 100s of km of
   coral reef coastline and spoke out against the concept. Boy was I shot
   down. The economics of developing coral reef ecotourism to help all of
   the poor people living near coral reefs won the day!!! This was going
   to help prevent overfishing the nearby reefs because the locals would
   have have new ways of making a living rather than depending on coral
   reefs for food, barter goods and building materials.
    How did that work out for coral reefs?????
   Dr. Alina M. Szmant,  CEO
   CISME Instruments LLC
   -------- Original message --------
   From: Mark Tupper via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
   Date: 5/27/23 5:05 PM (GMT-05:00)
   To: Phillip Dustan <phil.dustan at gmail.com>
   Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Help Us Understand the Beauty of Coral Reefs
   Phil, you hit it on the head. People are more likely to exploit what
   they
   love than protect it. Beautiful reefs, beaches, etc draw people like a
   magnet, leading to hotels, restaurants, dive shops, glass-bottom boat
   tours, increased fishing pressure to support said hotels and
   restaurants,
   sewage, plastic and other debris, and habitat destruction from coastal
   development.
   I watched this happen over a decade in Coron, Philippines. When I
   started
   surveys there in 2007, there were 3 hotels, a handful of tour
   operators,
   and maybe 30 cars on the island. By 2017, there were 53 hotels, several
   dozen tour operators, and about 3500 cars. The nearby reefs in Coron
   Bay
   that were stunning in 2007 were mostly trashed by 2017. I had to travel
   at
   least an hour to find healthy reefs with decent fish biomass.
   This same pattern is repeated globally. Coron is just one of many sites
   that has been "loved to death". Not to sound too flippant, but perhaps
   we
   should portray reefs as dangerous, nasty, scary places so people leave
   them
   alone.
   Mark
   On Sat, 27 May 2023, 12:02 Phillip Dustan via Coral-List, <
   coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
   >  I Agree. I was a co-author on this paper. My photo time-series of
   > Carysfort Reef were used to help validate the algorithm.
   > [1]https://biospherefoundation.org/project/coral-reef-change/
   >
   > However, there is a greater logical flaw in your thinking. For years
   the
   > mantra has been "People only protect what they love"
   > Cousteau popularized the idea and he always believed that it worked
   but I
   > think it is fair to say that the current state of affairs is that
   either
   > people do not love reefs or the idea is false.
   > Everyone treats coral reefs as a resource that provides goods and
   services
   > to humans when in fact reefs need all their productivity to maintain
   > themselves.
   > Reefs are living processes and that is what makes them beautiful to
   humans,
   > a healthy reef glows with life.
   > This can be quantified with image processing but that does not seem
   to add
   > to their conservation unfortunately.
   > Guess they need more than the perception of love to be allowed to
   exist in
   > the Anthropocene..........
   > Phil
   >
   _______________________________________________
   Coral-List mailing list
   Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   [2]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
   _______________________________________________
   Coral-List mailing list
   Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   [3]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

References

   1. https://biospherefoundation.org/project/coral-reef-change/
   2. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
   3. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list