[Coral-List] Coral Fragging should be banned

[Nicole Crane]

I very much appreciate and agree with this Chad.  I think this is actually
a bigger problem than many of us might realize.  Our work has shown
negative effects, especially on fish - which of course is important to the
communities there, of 'weedy' corals that dominate a reef.  By propagating
corals, especially those that grow quickly, well meaning people may well be
causing problems.  Kind of like Junipero Serra spreading all his fast
growing weedy european grasses and plants to mark his trail and fed
livestock.  Wow, look what that did to California coastal communities!!! If
you aren't a CA person - the short story is it wasn't good.

I too have now seen several of these programs to propagate corals, and the
idea seems to be spreading, especially marketed as a restoration program.
Might be good to have a platform where people could add programs they are
rare of and what region they are in??  Given that these people are well
intentioned, pairing these with better information might be very effective?
Does anyone have the bandwidth to do that?

best
Nicole

Nicole L. Crane
Faculty, Cabrillo College
Natural and Applied Sciences
www.cabrillo.edu/~ncrane

Senior Conservation Scientist, Project co-lead
One People One Reef
onepeopleonereef.ucsc.edu





On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 10:43 AM Chad Scott via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>  Hello coral-listers,
> I am growing concerned about the number of so-called reef conservation
> programs that are focused solely on coral fragging (propagation),
> especially in SE Asia and the Indo-Pacific. These programs are well
> intentioned, but extremely misguided. In one such prominent  program,
> people are able to become 'Instructors' in just three days, with no
> scientific traing. This agency does no monitoring or research, and as far
> as I can tell has never published a peer reviewed paper. They are focused
> on coral propagation because it is easy and looks good on social media, yet
> they do not have any understanding or consideration to the genetic affects
> of their work, nor its long-term implications. They are not involved in any
> other activities to address the threats (other than clean-ups maybe), and
> have not made any attempt to work with the local communities.
> I have written an article concerning this growing trend, and would like to
> hear the response of the scientific community. I know that many of you have
> been involved in related work for several decades, and think you are vital
> in resolving this issue. I fear that if the reef restoration community does
> not take proactive steps to self-regulate then draconian top-down controls
> will be implemented, and the vital work of so many will be stopped.
> Thank you,
> Chad Scott
>
> My arguments are summarized in the article is available here:
> http://conservationdiver.com/coral-fragging-should-be-banned/
>
>
>
>
> <
> http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Heaven-Reef-Conservation-Program/263941566997083
> >
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