Danger Underwater: Coral Reefs
Ever since I was a little island girl in the Philippines, I have always loved the ocean and the life inhabiting underneath the surface. During a family vacation trip (I was really young so I forget what island we went to), I went to go snorkeling above a coral reef with my relatives. It wasn’t like a vast coral reef that you imagine in photos with multitudes of colors and life all around, though it was enough to fascinate me swimming with fish and seeing corals in real life. (I also didn’t dive down — just peeked through a mask, still mostly above the surface of the water.)
Growing up, especially since I was in middle school, I have been concerned about environmental problems and surprised at how irresponsible humans can be when it comes to managing our natural resources — coral reefs included. Because of anthropogenic factors, coral reefs around the world are becoming more vulnerable ecosystems. In my blog post, I am going to explore a few ways coral reefs are being threatened today.
CLIMATE CHANGE
As many know (or believe in this political climate), climate change is the greatest challenge to the human race in the 21st century. Because of the warming temperatures and rise in carbon emissions, it has caused many changes in the ocean — therefore the ecosystems within it — worldwide.
When considering coral reefs in general, an increase in ocean temperatures have caused many sea animals to migrate to waters that are more favorable to them. On average, ocean temperatures have risen to about 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century.
In addition, the carbon intake of the ocean (as it is the largest carbon sink in the world) has caused ocean acidification, which has many implications for those sea creatures (including coral) that rely on Calcium carbonate for their shells. Especially among fisher-folk and the scientific community, they have found that crustaceans and other organisms that require Calcium carbonate have been smaller than what they used to be or that they have softer shells. Economically, this can be of concern to fisher-folk because they rely on certain species to make a living.
FISHING METHODS
Speaking of another anthropogenic factor (yes, climate change is real and is scientifically backed), fishing and the different fishing methods have impacted coral reefs around the world. Two that I am going to focus on are trawling and cyanide fishing.
Trawling is a fishing method in which a large net is dragged on the seafloor. Now, think about it for a bit. A LARGE NET IS DRAGGED ON THE SEAFLOOR. In a coral reef, A LARGE NET IS DRAGGED ON THE SEAFLOOR. Even when regulated, trawling can be a hazardous way to fish, especially when it is on a coral reef. This implies that not only are the target fish being captured, but EVERYTHING ELSE is caught within the snares, uprooting coral, and capturing bycatch (the fish that eventually just gets thrown away).
Now this can vary from country to country depending on whether fishing is regulated and how well it’s enforced (if there are any regulations at all). In Australia, for example, since there is a lot of protection on the Great Barrier Reef, legislation has allowed it so that there are designated zones in which it is permissible for fishers to trawl. But compared to another country that might have less regulations (because of lack of resources or knowledge, etc.), unregulated trawling can really destroy coral reefs.
Another destructive method is cyanide fishing .By using this method, the fish are stunned to be kept alive so the fishermen can use a large net in order to catch more fish. Using cyanide is preferred by some fishermen because it is easier and much faster than just by finding fish just by hook and line. However, this method is very destructive to the coral reef environments — as it affects all of the life inhabiting the reefs — and can turn them into “marine desserts.”
SO, HOW CAN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Well, to be honest, I’m not quite sure that I can mitigate this problem directly by myself because the pressures on the coral reefs are on a scale much bigger than myself. One thing that I’ve been doing to keep up is by educating myself more on this issue and some of my work thus far in my undergraduate career has been doing some research on the pressures put on coral reefs.
From doing some past research, and as I am taking a class on Environmental Economics, I find that policies can be a good way to help reduce the human impact on coral reefs — though this can get really specific when considering countries on a case by case basis due to differing political climates and economic circumstances. I think that first and foremost, I think that people need to care about this issue in the first place — especially those who live among coral reefs and depend on them for their livelihoods. In countries that rely on coral reefs in any way should be concerned about regulating the health of the reefs because it is an asset for their country, district, etc.
For example, going back to the Philippines, there are many coral reefs around Palawan where live reef fishing occurs — sometimes by using cyanide to keep the fish alive. Despite attempts to regulate large-scale firms (compared to the fisherfolk who rely on the reefs and live off of less than $2/day), enforcement issues are still a problem in this area. I find this issue pretty tricky to manage — especially since I don’t live in the Philippines anymore and have not been to Palawan myself — but I am inspired to take what I am learning in college and hopefully applying what I am learning to make a difference in the future.
Going back to educating, I recommend a book called Ocean Country by Liz Cunningham. It’s a book about the author’s experience with witnessing the environmental degradation occurring in the ocean. It was a gift two of my friends gave me for my 20th birthday my Sophomore year of college when I was really starting to study fisheries, and despite feeling hopeless about this issue, this book helps to give a sense of hope for the future.
