[Coral-List] 100 Yards of Hope Documentary Premiere on April 27

[sealab at earthlink.net]

Hi Robin,

While I applaud Force Blue for their efforts in drawing attention to the plight of Florida’s coral reefs, I am concerned about the veracity of the takeaway message being publicly conveyed. I have no doubt that the divers involved are, as you said, dedicated to saving America’s coral reefs, but if that goal is to be achieved it is important to stress that outplanting alone is not enough. My fear is that the messaging is thus fatally flawed by virtue of its brevity. Scientific paper after paper has emphasized the same critical point - that “*reducing stressors is required before significant population growth and recovery will occur”. *Survivorship and growth in staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) outplanting projects in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

You ended your post with the following notation: “*The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program's mission is to protect, conserve, and restore coral reef resources by maintaining healthy ecosystem function.*” I would argue that in order to achieve this mission (maintaining healthy ecosystem function) it will require more in the way of an emphasis on reducing stressors so that these outplanted corals will have a real chance to survive long-term. Why not clarify this point by adjusting the message to more accurately reflect the scientific consensus? Something along the lines of: While we are working hard (again from the above mentioned paper) “to protect against local extinction and are helping to maintain genetic diversity in the field”, we must not lose sight of the fact that both local and global stressors must be addressed.

On this Earth Day we should all pause to consider what more we can do. In that light, let’s get the word out that restoration provides hope, but long-term success requires that we not shy away from the real issues at hand.

Sincere regards,

Steve Mussman

On 4/19/21, 6:50 PM, Robin Garcia - NOAA Affiliate via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

The world premiere of 100 Yards of Hope,a documentary about the unique

Super Bowl restoration of a football field-sized coral reef, will debut

during NFLDraft week in Cleveland, the host city of this year’s Draft.The

film features the work of FORCE BLUE, a team of retired Special

Operations military

divers dedicated to saving America’s only barrier coral reef. NFLGreen teamed

up with FORCE BLUE, scientists, natural resource managers and NFL partners

who came together to save a portion of the reef off the coast of Miami and lay

the groundwork for future coral restoration worldwide. The Greater

Cleveland Aquarium will host the world premiere virtually on Tuesday, April

27, 2021 at 10AM EDT.

Those who are interested in watching the world premiere can register to

receive the link to watch for free on the Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s

website at https://www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com/100-yards-of-hope/.

Students from the Cleveland area will be featured following the premiere as

they direct questions to marine scientist Dalton Hesley and former Navy

SEAL Steve “Gonzo” Gonzalez. Schools who register for the premiere will

also receive coral education learning links and the chance to win a Greater

Cleveland Aquarium virtual field trip for a future date.The National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program

(NOAA CRCP) worked with FORCE BLUE and provided funding for the creation of

the100 Yardsof Hope documentary to increase awareness of the threat to

coral reefs and this unique collaboration to address it.

*Robin Garcia*

Communications Director, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

Pronouns: she/her/hers

CSS employee as part of Lynker/CSS Team

On contract to OCM

Office: 240-533-0776

Cell: 202-256-6615

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*The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program's mission is to protect,

conserve, and restore coral reef resources by maintaining healthy ecosystem

function.*

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