[Coral-List] NOAA Final Report

[Steve Mussman]

Hi Gene,

“However, I do not fully agree that creating more government regulations

will solve the problem. I may not have read the document closely enough

but I gather the basic conclusion is that most if not all of the current

coral demise can be attributed to climate change. If so, there may

be little that can be done at the local level to prevent continued

demise. It is well documented that there are other causes for demise

that are mainly related to increasing development. For example, National

TV continues to advertise and promote tourism to the Florida Keys and

other locations in the Caribbean. Of course that is necessary for the

economy and will continue in spite of climate change”.

I don’t think anyone is claiming that climate change is the only factor in the demise of corals along the Florida reef tract. A recent article in Nature points out that local efforts to control land based pollutants and overfishing are important, but that climate change has the potential to “fry” coral reefs even if these local stressors are brought under control.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02512-w

You conclude with the statement that “ . . . I appreciate the desire to stop Keys and

Caribbean-Wide coral demise but as long as climate change and population

rise and development continues these expensive politically driven

efforts will likely continue to fail”.

My question to you is assuming you are in support of protecting and conserving coral reefs, how else can we manage to neutralize such forces as climate change, overpopulation and coastal development without those often maligned “government regulations”? You point out that tourism is still being promoted in the Keys and throughout the Caribbean, doesn’t this support the contention that left to their own devices, we cannot rely on industries to responsibly regulate themselves?

Regards,

Steve Mussman

On 8/13/23, 3:24 PM, Eugene Shinn via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

Dear Jennifer and all involved in preparing the huge document re

habitats and 5 species of coral proposed for special protection.

However, I do not fully agree that creating more government regulations

will solve the problem. I may not have read the document closely enough

but I gather the basic conclusion is that most if not all of the current

coral demise can be attributed to climate change. If so, there may

be little that can be done at the local level to prevent continued

demise. It is well documented that there are other causes for demise

that are mainly related to increasing development. For example, National

TV continues to advertise and promote tourism to the Florida Keys and

other locations in the Caribbean. Of course that is necessary for the

economy and will continue in spite of climate change.

In addition to climate change there remains many local problems

such as ground water pollution from septic tanks and treatment

facilities. In the keys there are also shallow disposal wells. These

wells, generally little more than 100 ft deep, dispose of treated fresh

water into the underlying saline aquifer. Once injected this less saline

water floats upward to the overlying fresh water lens which has been

shown to move laterally toward the Atlantic side of the Keys and the

coral reefs. This movement is caused by tidal pumping driven by the

higher bay-side water level. Seaward movement of shallow groundwater has

been demonstrated in the past using monitoring wells and florescent dyes

including bacterial phages. The nutrient-rich water leaks from the

porous limestone during low tides when bay side water levels are higher.

I may have missed it but I saw none of this mentioned or referenced in

the approximately 250 references cited. Of these references the vast

majority are studies published since 2000. As a result the classic

papers by R. N. Ginsburg and Judith Lang (including the AGRA reports)

and many others including those by former Sanctuary members are missing.

Also missing is the huge USGS compilation by B. H. Lidz (highlighted

recently in vol 80 issue 8 of the coral-list).

Once again, I appreciate the desire to stop Keys and

Caribbean-Wide coral demise but as long as climate change and population

rise and development continues these expensive politically driven

efforts will likely continue to fail. Gene

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