[Coral-List] 100 Yards of Hope Documentary Premiere on April 27
Risk, Michael
riskmj at mcmaster.ca
Fri Apr 23 10:42:12 UTC 2021
Steve (and colleagues):
Let us be honest here. 100 yards of hope is nothing but a crude PR
exercise. The very first thing that needs to be done to bring back the
reefs of Florida is: clean up the water. There are 100 yards of
research showing this.
Mike
__________________________________________________________________
From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
Steve via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2021 12:06 PM
To: Robin Garcia - NOAA Affiliate via Coral-List
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] 100 Yards of Hope Documentary Premiere on
April 27
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
[1]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
Web | Facebook
| Twitter
*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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References
1. https://www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com/100-yards-of-hope/
2. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
3. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
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