[Coral-List] Resend: Underwater Video of Offshore Platforms in theGulf of Mexico

Joel Creed jcreed at uerj.br
Wed Oct 8 10:07:31 EDT 2008


Dear List,

Normally I wouldn't have taken the trouble but the juxtaposition "Eco"
"Rigs" attracted my curiosity so I looked at the videos and still photos on
the site. I wasn't going to get into this but I thoroughly agree with Wendy.
Putting aside the huge impacts to marine fauna and flora associated with the
exploration and production of oil and gas, I would like to highlight another
problem. Amongst other things the site contains images of highly invasive
alien corals (Tubastraea sp.). The site makes no mention of the fact that
oil and gas platforms routinely transport alien species around the world and
that biological invasion is one of the principal treats to marine
biodiversity. These species documented on video have invaded reefs
throughout the world, including the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico in
the Flower Garden Banks, so far (Fenner and Banks, 2004; Sammarco et al.,
2004). Although these platforms have accumulated intrinsic environmental
value (though no more so than any other artificial structure) they have an
accumulation of noxious marine pests too.

We mustn't get into the same posture as the Brazilian Petrobras oil company
did some years ago in their in-house magazine by proudly claiming the alien
species (this same coral) were "endemic" to their platforms in the Campos
Basin. Personally, I think that oil and gas platforms are not Noah's Arcs
and the oil industry should clean up its mess rather than sending it to the
bottom of the sea, even if it is a more expensive option.
Best wishes,
Joel Creed
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (and hourly consumer of oil
products, it must be said)

Fenner, D. and K. Banks (2004). "Orange Cup Coral *Tubastrea coccinea *invades
Florida and the Flower Garden Banks, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico." *Coral
Reefs* *23*: 505-507

Sammarco, P. W., A. D. Atchison, et al. (2004). "Expansion of coral
communities within the Northern Gulf of Mexico via offshore oil and gas
platforms." *MEPS* *280*: 129-143.


2008/10/7 Wendy Cyriacks <wc at cecosenvironmental.com>

> These are great videos and there is no denying that these structures are
> serving as "artificial reefs" and providing habitat for marine life
> including listed species.  However, let's keep in mind that these are oil
> platforms and they do have all the potential environmental impact and
> pollution problems associated with drilling. I would not want any of our
> politicians using these wonderful videos to extol the environmental
> benefits
> of drilling for oil especially in light of the potential for drilling off
> the coast of Florida.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Wendy Cyriacks
> President
>
>
>
> Cyriacks Environmental Consulting Services, Inc
> 3001 SW 15th Street, Suite B
> Deerfield Beach. FL 33442
> Office: 954.571.0290
> Fax: 954.571.7112
> Cell: 954.242.9271
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Kolian
> Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 9:07 AM
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [Coral-List] Resend: Underwater Video of Offshore Platforms in
> theGulf of Mexico
>
> Hello,
>
> Link in previous message combined with my "Best Regards" salutation and
> ruined the link to videos. I am resending. Sorry for the inconvenience.
>
>
> You may be interested in viewing the marine life colonizing offshore
> platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. We have recorded over 25 species of
> obligatory and cryptic fish inhabiting the structures. In addition, there
> are more than 50 facultative and pelagic species. The number of different
> invertebrates is unknown.
> http://www.ecorigs.org/Videos.html
>
>
> Best Regards, Steve Kolian 225-910-0304 cell
>
>
>
> > From: stevekolian at hotmail.com> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Date:
> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 16:31:47 -0500> Subject: [Coral-List] Underwater Video of
> Offshore Platforms> > Hello,> > > > Go to:
> http://www.ecorigs.org/Videos..html
>
>
>
> Best Regards, Steve Kolian 225-910-0304 cell> > >
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