The Independent

November 27, 1997

Pages 15 & 18

We often hear how coral reefs are in danger. Visitors returning to Buccoo Reef say how it has deteriorated over the years. We have heard about the effects of sewage and sediment, of debris and pollution, of boat anchors damaging the coral, of people removing pieces of live coral for souvenirs; in some countries, fishermen use cyanide or explosives to catch reef fish, but destroying other reef animals in the process. And now we hear about El Nino causing the sea temperature, to rise, resulting in coral bleaching and, in some cases, death of corals.

Do we stand sadly by and watch these beautiful sea gardens turn into murky wastes? Are the scientists doing anything to try and save the reefs?

Scientists alone are powerless to save the reefs. They can only study them, report on and give recommendations for their needs and their threats. Governments and government agencies, businesses, individuals all have their parts to play in preserving this fabulous natural resource.

Around the world innovative methods are being tried to help save coral reefs and their resources that are often the lifeblood of local communities.

For the 150,000 people living on the Tanga coast in northeast Tanzania, fish is the main source of income and protein. Many of the most important fish species in this area depend on the rich Tanga coral reef ecosystem for food and shelter. Unfortunately, much of the originally healthy coral reef along this 180-km stretch of coastline has been destroyed by reef-destructive fishing practices, particularly blast or dynamite fishing. The destruction of coral reef habitat in turn threatens the harvest from the sea and the future well being of Tanga coastal communities.

Although national regulations outlawing destructive fishing practices exist, they have not been enforced due to the currently limited surveillance and enforcement capacity of the government. This led the Tanzanian government to launch an innovative community-based coastal management programme which emphasizes collaboration between local communities and local and national authorities.

With the support of local officials, three pilot villages created committees to deal with destructive fishing, the increasing demand for fish, and the increasing numbers of fishers in the area. After two community-wide workshops, the committees have developed action plans that control types of fishing and close off parts of reefs to harvesting. Village elders inspect fishing gear and the fish for sale in local markets. There are also patrols against fishermen using dynamite. Efforts in the three pilot villages have proved so effective that fish landings have increased, and more villages have come forward wanting to enter the programme.

The marine aquarium trade, which supplies both large public aquaria and individual hobbyists, currently has a worldwide retail value of approximately US $200 million. Although this trade is tiny compared to the trade in food fish and other products derived from living marine resources, it is a high-profile trade due to the exotic nature of its product. The marine aquarium trade is based primarily on tropical reef fish; however, live coral and other reef invertebrates are also included.

In order to create appropriate habitat in tropical marine aquariums, live coral is collected by breaking pieces off of the reef. As a result of the marine aquarium trade, coral sustains indirect damage during the capture of marine ornamentals, and direct damage through the harvest of live coral.

Although the marine aquarium trade does contribute to the degradation of coral reefs, it is the marine aquarium industry itself that is most active in the search for solutions.

The Marine Aquarium Fish Council (MAFC) is developing a program to certify marine ornamentals. Only aquarium fish which are captured in a sustainable manner will receive MAFC certification, thereby giving consumers the information they need to make an educated purchasing decision.

Pieces of coral are harvested alive to supply coral researches, public aquariums and private aquarium hobbyists. Because coral is a renewable resource like fish or trees, theoretically it can be harvested from the wild on a sustainable basis. However, if the demand for live coral (or "live rock") exceeds the natural ability of coral to regenerate, live coral harvest will become an unsustainable practice and a threat to coral reefs. In order to take some pressure off of wild coral, coral scientists, aquariums and hobbyists have begun raising coral in captivity.

The Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii maintains 74 species of stony corals from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Palau, Guam, and Hawaii (some dating back to 1980). Because corals grow, they require periodical "pruning." The fragments, or "cuttings," generated by this pruning activity are made available to other public aquariums and researchers.

Transplantation of corals in the wild, to repair reefs damaged by natural events or human activities, has been shown to be feasible. It is possible that some day damaged reefs will be repaired with "captive-grown" corals.

Improved technology and safety has attracted an increasing number of people, including women and children, to the sport of scuba diving. About 3½ million Americans scuba dive regularly.

The primary attraction for most of these scuba divers is coral reefs. Last year, more than one million divers visited the coral reefs in the Florida Keys alone. Because coral reefs around the world are seriously threatened, scuba divers are starting to play an important role in helping to keep this extraordinary undersea would alive.

In 1993, a group of scuba divers that wanted to help keep coral reefs alive formed a non-profit organization called "The Coral Reef Alliance" (CORAL). CORAL’s education and conservation programs around the world have expanded beyond the dive community during this International year of the Reef to bring its message to school children, aquarium visitors, movie viewers, and many others who may not have much information about coral reefs.

Although divers are sometimes blamed for hurting coral reefs by inadvertently kicking or bumping into the reefs, the amount of diver damage done on a global scale is negligible compared with the global impact of over-fishing and dumping of sewage, fertilizer and sediment in the water. So, while divers can help protect the reefs by taking care while diving, their most important contribution to coral reef conservation may be the economic incentives that their tourism dollars create to keep the reefs alive.

Each year, more than US $1.7 billion in revenue is generated by dive tourism. Dive tourism is often a primary source of employment and foreign exchange in coral reef areas. If the local reefs die, divers will not return to that destination and this critical revenue is lost. Some governments have created marine parks and other specially protected areas to preserve their reef resources.

We must preserve all our reefs in Tobago and the one in Toco. Buccoo Reef, although the most famous, is not the only one.

Information on community-based Management of reefs in Tanzania, the Marine Aquarium Trade, Coral Farming, and SCUBA Divers and Coral Reefs, from NOAA.

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