thank you VERY much

[Ursula Keuper-Bennett]

To all Coral types who responded, 

   Thanks all of you for the info you provided me so quickly regarding  
people to contact in the Indian River area.  Over three months of net  
surfing brought me zip but one message in Coral got me a phone number.  That  
one phone call to Florida got me another phone number but I know THAT one  
will have all the info I need. 

   The gentleman I spoke to briefly (it was 10 to 5 when I called) confirmed  
my suspicion that the Indian River area is far from pristine.  I mentioned  
that our dive site on Maui got trashed and he agreed "trashed" is a good  
word for Indian River but grand efforts are being made to "restore" it. 

   My husband and I had an area of ocean of West Maui all to ourselves.   
I've dived it since 1977 - he since 1987.  In 1989, this area experienced  
the first of several cladophora algae blooms.  Because we dive with video we  
were able to document it.  Upon our return in 1990 we were shocked at how  
many corals died in the course of 10 months. 

   Our dive site has been through blooms and heavy run offs and I can't  
begin to go into everything.  I am not a scientist, just a diver whose dive  
site got trashed.  We met some turtles there.  We dive with the same animals  
every year.  Since we met them in 1988, we have seen them get sick with a  
disease. 

   Indian River has the same incidence of disease.  Hence my interest in the  
water lack-of-quality of Indian River.   I am also interested in corals  
because (thankfully) there ARE corals that are still alive in our area and I  
intend to keep it that way. 

   Now to ask about Australia....    Thanks again 

                      ^                  Ursula Keuper-Bennett 
                     0 0                 Mississauga, Ontario 
            /V^\     I I    /^V\         Email: howzit at io.org 
          /V     Turtle Trax    V\ 
        /V      Forever Green     V\     http://www.io.org/~bunrab