[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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