[Coral-List] Corals don't Clog, Discovery Inc. will clog them?

[James M. Cervino (Marine Biologist)]

Dear Pete,

We actually did and continue to spend most of our time working in other countries out-side of USA borders.  Our main focus is in the past 10 years is the Indo-Pacific and New Guinea. I can remember a few years back when a hand full of aquarium-hobby experts were telling me that NaCN (cyanide) does not kill corals because "we gloom and doom types did not have enough evidence" to make the claim that it was a respiratory inhibitor thereby leading to cell death.  Jones et al. spent allot of time showing how it inhibited photosynthesis using the PAM followed by our paper published in Marine Pollution Bull that HCN actually does kill corals. We wasted allot of time debating the cyanide issue because the press (NEWS) saw opposition from a few aquarium industry moguls as to the actual concentration that is lethal to corals. Therefore, we basically killed numerous corals in controlled experiments (this was a travesty) to show that cyanide is lethal to corals.  I am sure that the HCN debate helped force agencies to see how minor doses of HCN kills corals and that farming or a complete ban on imports is the only way to sustain the remaining corals remaining in the wild.  Did the coral list debate work? Not sure, as the revolving door of captured corals from endangered reefs is continuing and HCN is still being used to capture fish.  Maybe you can share this ?interesting data with us regarding the Philippines? does it have anything to do with the Golf Course that was supposed to open on Boracay Island?  Is the coral cay group fighting against this? I don?t want to be an activist as I am now focusing my time on mechanisms/stresses that impair the symbiotic association between coral and its resident algal cell. But the Guana group really needed help so we offered to join forces. It would be great if we can get the Pace University Law Clinic on this one as Bobby Kennedy and his highly competent colleagues can help us win this case if they were able to go outside US borders.

The Guana issue may be lost, even though we have enough evidence showing that golf courses, dredging, and nutrient enrichment kills corals!  But the PRESS seem to be writing articles claiming that this development may not be stressful to the reef, due to a few financially compensated scientists providing the government with reasonable doubt. It does not seem to matter that the hired scientists have not published one paper on the biology and physiology of corals, nutrient analysis chemistry, coral diseases and coral algal interactions. It is clear that they don?t have an understanding of the delicate symbiotic association and sensitivity concerning the skin and cells lining the limestone skeletons on the surfaces corals, or they would not be backing this environmental nightmare.  I hope that the scientists hired by the developer, turn their back on this multimillion-dollar corporation that is evidently not a green operator. Lets all hope that they see the light and join the peoples fighting to save the corals of this region.  What we need is for the  group that presented a plan to implement an MPA near Man-O-War Cay to develop a MPA plan that has "teeth" and directly addresses NON-POINT SOURCES of pollution that effect corals to be added into their fish protection plan.  

The point being; is that this coral list server reaches, educators, press and political peoples that look to us coral marine scientists for an up to date analysis as to the current trends of the worlds reefs. The debate is needed. 

James




I believe in compulsory cannibalism. 
If people were forced to eat what they killed, 
there would be no more wars. 
Abbie Hoffman