[Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation

Jon Skrapits jon at treasurecoastcorals.com
Tue Dec 18 14:26:15 EST 2012


Agreed Steve,

I was being sarcastic about the parrot and trying to show that they are a
benefit but at a quick glance it may seem as though they are destructive.

Check this out.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/finding-a-place-for-coral-farms-in-a-changing-ocean/

How can we develop scientific studies on the benefits of aquaculture if we
never pursue that avenue due to restrictions.



On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 2:21 PM, Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Jon,
>
> In response to your side note:
>
> **
> "If limiting actions that deplete the ocean such as
> harvesting coral to grow it, then why aren't we destroying parrot fish that
> eat the coral? I blame them for the destruction of the reef".
>
> A paper by the Universities of Exeter and California Davis, published
> November 1, 2007 in Nature explains that Parrotfish are now the sole
> grazers of seaweed on many Caribbean reefs, but fishing has limited their
> numbers. With insufficient Parrotfish grazing, corals are unable to
> recover after major disturbances like hurricanes and become much less
> healthy as a result. The paper argues that in order to secure a future
> for coral reefs, particularly in light of the predicted impact of climate
> change, Parrotfish need to be protected. The good news is that we can
> take practical steps to protect Parrotfish and help reef regeneration. We
> recommend a change in policy to establish controls over the use of fish
> traps, which Parrotfish are particularly vulnerable to. We also call on
> anyone who visits the Caribbean and sees Parrotfish on a restaurant menu to
> voice their concern to the management.
>
> This research was published in Nature: vol 450, issue 7166.
>
> Regards,
>   Steve
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Jon Skrapits **
> >Sent: Dec 18, 2012 10:24 AM
> >To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >Subject: [Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation
> >
> >I looked over the criteria the best I could. I apologize if I
> misunderstood
> >but it seems as though the driving factor for determining the listing of a
> >coral is by counting the number of animals distributed in an ecosystem.
> >Then many different hypotheses are thrown out to state a personal case or
> >blame a general global phenomenon or "problem." I never heard more
> specific
> >questions such as these.
> >
> >What does an acropora(or other corals) look like when it is subjected to
> >low pH?
> >How about inadequate flow?(How can a fragmentation survive if you place it
> >improperly?)
> >How about elevated levels of nitrates?(does it even affect them?)
> >Phosphates?
> >Insufficient calcium levels?
> >What about the overall chemistry of seawater when Magnesium is low?
> >Temp fluctuations?
> >Effects of a changing ecosystem causing a lack of food for corals?
> >Do corals really need fish or is it the other way around?( I have many
> >systems w/out fish and pleny of corals)
> >
> >These and many other questions must be answered every hour in aquaculture
> >and guessing wrong causes mass deaths in some cases. Much can be learned
> >from this.
> >
> >
> >On a side note.... If limiting actions that deplete the ocean such as
> >harvesting coral to grow it, then why aren't we destroying parrot fish
> that
> >eat the coral? I blame them for the destruction of the reefs.
> >
> >As I have said many times, gov. regulation will only kill the reefs.
> Making
> >it a profitable venture will save them. Educate not regulate. If we can't
> >agree on what is killing the reefs and change our habits, the ocean will
> >not improve and the corals will sit on the reef awaiting their demise. Are
> >the oceans improving? What are we doing to improve that? Just ban
> >havesting? That is the answer? I will collect as many species as possible
> >to have a genetic pool of hearty corals that have been through
> fluctuations
> >and hopefully one day I can help or my kids can help to replant the ocean.
> >I will watch the rest of mankind squabble over what they think is the
> >problem as it worsens. Maybe we will knock off parrot fish as a last
> resort
> >if they are still alive.
> >
> >
> >--
> >Thanks,
> >_______________________________________________
> >Coral-List mailing list
> >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> **
>



-- 
Thanks,


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