[Coral-List] NOAA Report about Port Miami Dredging

[International Coral Reef Observatory]

Dear Mr Steve Miller, Regional Sales Manager, Restoration Dredge
https://www.restorationdredge.com/contact-us/

Yes, it is scientifically proven the negative impact of dredging on coral
reefs. Some of your citations are also included in the most recent NOAAs
report. There also reports from Miami DERM and Miami Water keeper
interesting to take into account for decision making.

The current situation of world coral reefs provides a wake up call for
scientists who deny local impacts or who only blame climate change, to get
funding for restoration. Dredging and depositing the sediments
(>>Pollution) close to coral reef areas produce negative effects
(cumulative stress and morbidity) that are exacerbated by climate change
(Mortality). Thus, it would be better to look for alternative sites if
dredging is needed must be done far away from coral reefs and with strict
treatment of sewage and ballast water of large ships controlling vectors to
be spread. Instead of allowing ithis unsustainable development with
promises to restore colony by colony with very high mitigation costs and
low effectivity.

The triple crisis that the United Nations pointed out, (local and global
pollution) need to be addressed urgently to avoid further Biodiversity
Loss, if we really want to save coral reefs we should avoid habitat and
ecosystems destruction. That is our recommendation to our dear colleague,
Dr. David Obura who is the new IPBES Chair, when considering science in
improving decision making for effective conservation.

Cordially,
NOHORA GALVIS
ICRS World Reef Award Winner
Director
International Coral Reef Observatory, ICRO
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El jueves, 12 de octubre de 2023, Steven L Miller <smiller52 at gmail.com>
escribió:

> Dear Dr. Nohora
>
>
>
> It is well-known that dredging can harm corals, but the NOAA report you
> cited about Port Miami is not the definitive impact statement about corals
> during the dredging project. The additional references below provide
> essential context to evaluate the causes and amount of coral mortality,
> potential mitigation costs, and the design of future dredge projects in
> Florida.
>
>
> I'm sure that you would agree that stakeholders including Federal agencies
> should frame their views and establish policy based on all of the science.
>
>
>
> Best Regards
>
>
>
> Steven Miller
>
>
>
> *Unprecedented Disease-Related Coral Mortality in Southeastern Florida.
> (2016)* Precht, W., Gintert, B., Robbart, M. *et al.* * Sci Rep* 6, 31374
> (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31374
>
>
>
> *Regional coral disease outbreak overwhelms impacts from a local dredge
> project. (2019)* Gintert, B.E., Precht, W.F., Fura, R. *et al*
>
> *Environ Monit Assess* 191, 630 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/
> s10661-019-7767-7
>
>
>
> *Miami harbor deep dredge project: a reappraisal reveals same
> results. (2019)* Precht, W. F., Gintert, B., Fura, R., Rogers, K.,
> Robbart, M., & Dial, S. Miami harbor deep dredge project: a reappraisal
> reveals same results. *WEDA Dredging Summit & Expo ‘19 Proceedings*,
> Chicago, IL https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William_Precht/
> publication/333666959
> <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William_Precht/publication/333666959_MIAMI_HARBOR_DEEP_DREDGE_PROJECT_A_REAPPRAISAL_REVEALS_SAME_RESULTS/links/5cfc4f69299bf13a38489202/MIAMI-HARBOR-DEEP-DREDGE-PROJECT-A-REAPPRAISALREVEALS-SAME-RESULTS.pdf>
>
>
>
> *Multi-Variate Analyses of Coral Mortality From the 2014–2015 Stony Coral
> Tissue Loss Disease Outbreak Off Miami-Dade County, Florida. (2021) *Spadafore,
> R, Fura, R, Precht, W, Vollmer, S.
>
> Front. Mar. Sci. Vol 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.723998
>
>
>
> *Coral persistence despite marginal conditions in the Port of Miami.
> (2023)* Enochs, I.C., Studivan, M.S., Kolodziej, G. *et al.* * Sci Rep* 13,
> 6759. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33467-7
>
>
>
> _____________
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> In messages of last year, some restoration practitioners were mentioning
> that it is not proven the negative impacts of dredging on coral reefs.
> Other coral-listers were asking about the final report on Port of Miami
> Dredging Impact on Corals written by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries
> Service (NMFS). Here we share it:https://es.scribd.com/document/669975874/NOAA-report-on-Port-Miami-dredging-impact-on-corals
>
> NOAA, NMFS, 2023, Report,
> Examination of Sedimentation Impacts to Coral Reef along the Port Miami
> Entrance
> Channel, December 2015 and April 2016. *Released *
> August 29, 2023 It provides empirical field-based evidence linking deeper
> sediment deposits and changes in coral reef bottom cover to dredging that
> occurredat Port Miami from 2013 to 2015. reflects a finding that 278 acres
> of corals were killed in the Phase III dredging project in Port Miami in
> 2015.
>
>