Emily Wolf

03/17/19

English 103

Conserving Coral Reefs

It is a hot day. The sun is drumming down on boats as they​ swish back​ and forth over the

top of the ocean. One glass bottom boat, in particular, sits as still as possible on the surface. It

bobs in motion with the sea. Families with children are crowded around the viewing bottom,

peering into a world unknown. Small fish of all colors zip around crevices. Beautiful hues from

the entire color spectrum can be spotted. The fish under the water are floating with a whimsical

fashion, only to be pulled or pushed every few seconds with the force of a wave crashing above.

Watching these ecosystems be pulled looks like a colorful, vibrant pulse, knocking back and

forth, swaying to the beat of their known existence; a blue world with a rhythmic beat like that of

a coursing vein. Back and forth, back and forth. But in between being pulled one way they

continue about their lives finding a mate and scouring for food. To them, this is every day. A life

of motion. It is allowed to flourish side by side with humans. On any day boats hovering above

the water can be seen. You can also find packs of scuba divers on any given day, as well. These

areas are mostly left to their own devices, but are subjected to some help from human hands. The

nearby shores are teeming with people who have come far and wide to get an eye at this pristine

natural ecosystem.

Coral reefs all over the world like this need to be protected. They are one of the most

delicate ecosystems in the world and one of the most diverse. They are a hub of life in the

oceans. According to Dr. Nancy Knowlton, a coral reef biologist and the Smithsonian
Institution’s Sant Chair for Marine Science, about a fourth of the species in the oceans depend on

coral reefs for survival, although reefs themselves take up about 2% of the ocean’s floor. Coral

reefs, without a doubt, are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They are often referred

to as the rainforests of the ocean. These phenomenal, intricate ecosystems are a stopping point

for many migrational creatures such as sharks or rays. They are home to millions of different

species, and they house about a fourth of the oceans' nurseries. A natural ebb and flow is found

within them. Coral reefs are highly important, but massively endangered.

In the last several years we have lost irreplaceable amounts of life due to coral bleaching

and water temperatures rising. In one summer we lost about a third of the Great Barrier Reef to

coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is a process where the coral reefs begin to die. They lose their

natural vibrant hues and turn a white color as the coral expel their symbiotic algae. These algae

are crucial for survival of the individual coral and the entirety of the reef. Coral bleaching is

caused by changes in water temperature, access to light, and chemical composition in water from

human interactions with the environments. Never in our history has it been more important for

us to protect and nourish these delicate seas, not just from their benefit but for ours. A lot of the

fish that end up on the dinner table start in a coral reef; they frequent it as part of their daily life.

Many creatures use reefs for their nurseries, frequent one as part of their daily activities, or

simply just bop in and out on its migrational journey for a snack or a rest. The important role that

coral reefs play in the health of the oceans is unsurpassed. There is no comparison of importance.

Without coral reefs the entire ocean would begin to collapse.

But how do we do it? Do we cross our fingers? Do we just shut off all human access and

hope for the best? What and how are the best ways to rebuild our reefs? How do we properly
implement protection? Marine Protected zones all over the world have been known to help

bounce back not only endangered populations, but literally the entire food chain. It’s not a

question of if they should be protected but how they should be protected. This brings up the

debate of preservation vs. conservation.

Preservation and conservation are two closely related topics in the world of national

parks. Preservation is the ideology that is best to leave nature untouched. It’s a concept of

leaving nature alone in its pristine, purest state; to leave it unsullied by human hands. While

conservation, on the other hand, is thought of as utilizing the space with benefits to humans; to

preserve the natural environment to ensure it is used best for human interest. This is one of our

most constant debates in the national park system. It’s been a raging question since before the

creation of the national park system in 1916.

Today that debate still goes on, especially in our oceans over our most delicate areas like

coral reefs. Preservationists believe humans should remove themselves from these areas to

benefit the endangered ecosystems, but this is not the case. Sad to say, but we are past the point

of preservation being a viable option; implementing a conservationist view would be beneficial.

We can and should then allow restricted human usage. We need to help rebuild and monitor

these areas. We need to zone our coral reefs. We need regulations saying who can do what,

where, when, and at what times of year. These aquatic parks should protect the diverse, colorful

wildlife, but should be designed in such a way to help the economic prosperity and enjoyment of

these beautiful environments for the human species.

One process of human interaction that falls under the conservation category is

Recruitment Subsidiary. According to Marine Biologist Robert Fiddler, we need to be practicing

recruitment subsidy​. It is the process where scientists who are certified scuba divers come in and

collect larvae of the beautiful coral reef fish and place them in depleted areas. That is how we

keep those gorgeous fish populations healthy. This can help implement a tourist economy that’s

centered on research and scientific findings. Having a healthy population can help create a

hotspot of scientific research. Scientists travel too.

A booming tourist economy is good, it brings in revenue which further helps the reef

systems. Beautiful places attract thick pockets-books. Zoning should protect the reefs but reflect

the needs of nature and humans in the local regions. According to Marine biologist Patricia

Waid, successful Marine Protected Areas(MPA) which are zoned properly improve biodiversity

and the overall health of the seas they impact. They can provide bigger and better economic

opportunities through tourism. A healthy sea means a healthy economy for the coral reefs and

nearby human counterparts. In what ways though? The more money that is generated, the more

programs can be created to help the reef. More funding to conservation programs will help

humans and their animal counterparts.

One of the first things the new parks usually do is put a stop to harvesting of coral,

spearfishing at will, large commercial ships just anchoring wherever, and the wrangling of native

fish populations to be sold as vacation souvenirs. Parks that limit damaging activities but allow

scuba diving or glass bottom boating into the beautiful, full ecosystems have a higher visitation

rates for tourism, which pulls in money for the local areas and local governments. It’s a

symbiotic relationship of success. Because through implementing taxes, money can be raised to

further growth within the park. A beautiful healthy area makes people proud.
 But more people means more damage to the reefs? This is a valid concern, but that’s why

planning and zoning are keys to success. People are going to visit places and unless their visits

are planned for, it can be disastrous. For example when massive ocean freighters drop anchor

without a plan being set in motion by local governments, it can be disastrous. The anchors from

those large ships can weigh up to three thousand pounds and be monstrous in size. A cruise ship

can take out a substantial amount of coral reef with one anchor, one time. Successful marine

parks like the Florida Keys Monument according to Cammy Clark, a reporter for the Miami

Herald who specifically works on news within the Florida Keys Monument, will place buoys out

past the reef to protect the ecosystem from the careless dredging or anchoring from cruise ships,

but they allow smaller boats to ferry the passengers in and out of the protected coral parks.

Really, the key to success is planning for people to be negligent and trying to counter it.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, director of the Australian Research Council's

Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Terry Hughes, says “the best approach to the

tourism industry is being an active advocate for the reef. Through teaching tourists to look but

not touch, and to be careful when reef walking or snorkeling” (Coral Reefs). It is a delicate

ecosystem. The active advocate system should be for anyone for anything visiting the reef,

businesses and ships included.

According to Marine Biologist Mamiji Viska, the planning process should ensure the

balance between the ecological conservation and local people's needs. Biological principles can

be used as essential design, but there should be included relevant local economic needs to ensure

community support. It is what is best for us and best for our oceans. Around the globe we can

maintain a balance that helps all color, lively coral reefs involved. We need to protect them, but
also make them, in a positive way, accessible to humans. In the words of accomplished

oceanographer and explorer Don Walsh, It is a region of conflicting uses and users, all of whom

can and have damaged the fragile environment. An opportunity for tourism is created from an

opportunity for under the water life to flourish. To keep our oceans in pristine we must keep a

need for them to be so. To encourage these areas and help them grow alongside humanity is the

only way to protect them properly. We need education based funding, like being an active

advocate program all over the planet to help humans go side-by-side with seas; one of the ways

to raise those funds is through tourism. The remaining fact is the proper way to manage these

areas: How do we decide the who, the when, the where, and the how much?
 Works Cited

Clark, Cammy, and McClatchy Newspapers. “World's First Underwater Park near Florida Keys

Turns 50.” ​Tribune,​ The San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2010,

www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-worlds-first-underwater-park-near-florida-keys-2010dec06

-story.html.

“Coral Reefs.” ​WWF,​ wwf.panda.org/our work/oceans/coasts/coral_reefs/.

Fidler, Robert Y., et al. “Coral Reef Fishes Exhibit Beneficial Phenotypes inside Marine

Protected Areas.” ​PLoS ONE​, vol. 13, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 1–15. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1

Knowlton, Nancy. “Corals and Coral Reefs.” ​Smithsonian Ocean,​ 18 Dec. 2018,

ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs.371/journal.pone.0193426.
 Viska, Maija, et al. “Development of Ecosystem-Based Maritime Spatia​l Planning ​Decision

Support System for the Marine Protected Areas Designation Process.” ​Bollettino Di

Geofisica Teorica Ed Applicata​, vol. 59, Nov. 2018, pp. 109–110. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=133964855&site=ehost-live.

Waid, Patricia Fernandez. “Marine Protected Areas Are Important, but...” ​Scientific American

Blog Network​, 23 May 2018,

blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/marine-protected-areas-are-important-but/.

Walsh, Don. “Wet Wilderness: America’s Marine Sanctuaries.” ​U.S. Naval Institute

Proceedings,​

vol. 126, no. 6, June 2000, p. 89. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=3238115&site=ehost-live.