Coral Magazine...Taking shots at reefcentral?
- Thread starter spstimie
- Start date
It was more of a shot at the entire industry. I read the rest after I posted it. It was posted on facebook by one of my industry friends. It has created a bit of debate. Thought it would be fun here since the only thing the article doesn't detest is educated reef club members. But it pretty much blasts the entire livestock industry. :/
I think it was a pretty amateurish slam on all of us.
They blasted the ENTIRE hobby with a shotgun and then didn't point us to a better way.
Sounded like a big whinefest. I agree that there is massive corruption in the hobby but
instead of just whining about it, make some suggestions. How about shining a spotlight on
the hack shops? How about buying more aquacultured fish/corals (almost impossible since
we don't reign over the poor people of the third world and they need to make money somehow).
I was kind of expecting a website that would educate us in sustainable aquaculture. Instead
it just ranted without specifics or solutions to their rants.
Too bad.....it could have been an educational article too.
They blasted the ENTIRE hobby with a shotgun and then didn't point us to a better way.
Sounded like a big whinefest. I agree that there is massive corruption in the hobby but
instead of just whining about it, make some suggestions. How about shining a spotlight on
the hack shops? How about buying more aquacultured fish/corals (almost impossible since
we don't reign over the poor people of the third world and they need to make money somehow).
I was kind of expecting a website that would educate us in sustainable aquaculture. Instead
it just ranted without specifics or solutions to their rants.
Too bad.....it could have been an educational article too.
I think it was an attempt at a wake up call to an entire nation of deaf ears, our oceans/ world are in jeopardy, without serious reform and regulation we are looking at not only our hobby being finite, but our entire way of life. It is a blatant jab at the entire industry, an industry that needs reform.
That's a terribly uneducated view of the hobby. When facing someone with this kind of view all you have to ask is, "Do you own a car?" If the answer is anything short of a no than they are a part of the bigger problem. The simple fact is that taking coral out of the ocean is not the current problem. The problem is the coral in the ocean is dying at a rapid pace. Everyone who drives a car or uses electricity is the cause of CO2 emissions and ocean acidification, but admitting this would mean consciously picking themselves over the oceans. Naturally nobody wants to accept this responsibility, so why not blame someone else?
This is the beginning of sustainability. These "poachers" want to keep this corals exclusive and continue making money, so they continue growing them and selling them slowly.
Awesome thread! I can see some fun conversation coming out of this.
This is the beginning of sustainability. These "poachers" want to keep this corals exclusive and continue making money, so they continue growing them and selling them slowly.
Awesome thread! I can see some fun conversation coming out of this.
I'm very surprised that "coral magazine" allowed themselves to be affiliated with this article. There are no peer reviewed articles that show a correlation between harvesting corals for the aquarium industry and coral reef destruction. I am an environmentalist to my core and still I find this article horribly flawed and misleading. In my opinion, and I'm not alone, it is the human activities that no one thinks nor talks about that are the real threat to coral reefs. Global warming, and yes to any doubters it is happening, changes the currents and causes water to flow differently. This has a vast impact on reefs. They take thousands of years to move to where the new favorable conditions are located. River water containing fertilizer flows into costal water causing plankton blooms and ultimately dead zones which are completely starved of oxygen. Yet this article wants to talk about harvest as a real potential threat that needs to be handled immediately? To me, whoever wrote this is 1) not qualified to make the statements made and 2) not very well informed on the topic as a whole. I studied coral banding disease for a year and honestly the devastation I saw from it was truly epic. The crown of thorns starfish is another issue that is truly epic. The amount of coral that these two issues kill so greatly eclipses what is harvested that to me harvesting is not even worth discussing. Now I know that whoever wrote the article would argue that harvesting weakens the reef making it more vulnerable to parasites and disease but again there are no studies with peer reviewed articles to support this. I tend to actually agree with those who believe that by bringing these species into aquariums and learning about them that we are actually doing reefs a huge favor. If you are someone who wants to try and do everything you can to help reefs, start by lowering your footprint. Drive less, turn off your appliances and lights, install solar panels. Those are things that might actually make a difference for reefs if enough people do it. This article was meant to start controversy and obviously it has worked. Coral reefs are no doubt in real trouble and need immediate attention. Articles like this can actually cause further damage by misguiding people and acting as a distraction to the larger issues at hand. Nice job coral magazine, I think it's time you guys really start thinking about what your affiliated with.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_threats_to_the_Great_Barrier_Reef
I'm not seeing us on there lol.
I'm not seeing us on there lol.
Going back and rereading the article, it appears that it is in the Forum section of Coral Mags site, not an actual article written by one of the staff writers (unless one of them goes by Sea Save as a pen name)
NOT defending the author by any means, but it doesnt appear to have Coral Mags stamp on it, its the forum that anyone can post their thoughts or feelings on. On the left bar another article by the same Poster titled Animal Planet, that seems to be more ramblings than anything.
NOT defending the author by any means, but it doesnt appear to have Coral Mags stamp on it, its the forum that anyone can post their thoughts or feelings on. On the left bar another article by the same Poster titled Animal Planet, that seems to be more ramblings than anything.
I don't agree entirely with the article(rant), but I do see some of the points of view. I know during my time and travels within the industry, I have heard several rumors that the LE corals provided under certain names are smuggled in. If I could substantiate any of them, I would do something, but hard to do anything about rumors. If you think about it for every cities species that gets caught, there are probably hundreds that get through. I know I have seen my fair share of Rhizotrochus in captivity. Keep in mind that the US is not the only country this hobby exists in and we have some of the best regulations. If you think Asia cares at all about importing these things, just look up dolphin kill videos. As for the treatment of animals once they hit the US. I have been to a large amount of livestock wholesalers and most of them make me sick to my stomach. They could care less about the animals. It's all about money. Most of the stores I have visited around the country are not much better. Just keep track of the livestock losses so you can write them off at the end of the year. The hobbyists are about the only ones who care about an individual animal.
IMO we need much tougher regulations on the care of these animals. We take issue with puppy farms, but honestly, a majority of the marine animals collected live in just as poor conditions until they find a loving home. I would even support required licensing for every level of this industry/hobby. I have been around for store inspections and they are a joke.
I will agree with you that there are damaging natural issues with the reefs. If anyone ever wants to convince non believers of human caused global warming though, stop using the term CO2. Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are far greater than just this one gas. The only issue with CO2 and other natural greenhouse gasses is that the natural balance is thrown off by greenhouse gasses that did not exist prior to the industrial revolution. Find a way to process those gasses that we create and nature will handle CO2. The problem is that the media and government refer to it all as CO2 and lets face it. Our education system doesn't teach the average person the rest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_list_of_greenhouse_gases
Coral reefs have been found to migrate up 5km/year in recent studies, but not all species can move that quickly. We will probably lose a lot but the idea that humans will outlast reefs through all this still entertains me. Corals were around before us and they will be here when we are gone.
http://reefbuilders.com/2011/02/03/coral-climate-change/
(I sent this link to the RB crew)
Just my opinions when it comes to this subject, but I have grown up in this industry and hobby, so it is a lifetime of observations. Soapbox empty if anyone wants it.
IMO we need much tougher regulations on the care of these animals. We take issue with puppy farms, but honestly, a majority of the marine animals collected live in just as poor conditions until they find a loving home. I would even support required licensing for every level of this industry/hobby. I have been around for store inspections and they are a joke.
I will agree with you that there are damaging natural issues with the reefs. If anyone ever wants to convince non believers of human caused global warming though, stop using the term CO2. Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are far greater than just this one gas. The only issue with CO2 and other natural greenhouse gasses is that the natural balance is thrown off by greenhouse gasses that did not exist prior to the industrial revolution. Find a way to process those gasses that we create and nature will handle CO2. The problem is that the media and government refer to it all as CO2 and lets face it. Our education system doesn't teach the average person the rest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_list_of_greenhouse_gases
Coral reefs have been found to migrate up 5km/year in recent studies, but not all species can move that quickly. We will probably lose a lot but the idea that humans will outlast reefs through all this still entertains me. Corals were around before us and they will be here when we are gone.
http://reefbuilders.com/2011/02/03/coral-climate-change/
(I sent this link to the RB crew)
Just my opinions when it comes to this subject, but I have grown up in this industry and hobby, so it is a lifetime of observations. Soapbox empty if anyone wants it.
I believe we fit into this section:
Overfishing
The unsustainable overfishing of keystone species, such as the Giant Triton and sharks, can cause disruption to food chains vital to life on the reef. Fishing also impacts the reef through increased pollution from boats, by-catch of unwanted species (such as dolphins and turtles) and reef habitat destruction from trawling, anchors and nets.[44] Overfishing of herbivore populations can cause algal growths on reefs. The Batfish Platax pinnatus has been observed to significantly reduce algal growths in studies simulating overfishing.[45] Sharks are fished for their meat, and when they are part of bycatch, it is common to kill the shark and throw it overboard, as there is a belief that they interfere with fishing.[46] As of 1 July 2004, approximately one-third of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is protected from species removal of any kind, including fishing, without written permission.[47] However, illegal poaching is not unknown in these no-take zones.[4
Overfishing
The unsustainable overfishing of keystone species, such as the Giant Triton and sharks, can cause disruption to food chains vital to life on the reef. Fishing also impacts the reef through increased pollution from boats, by-catch of unwanted species (such as dolphins and turtles) and reef habitat destruction from trawling, anchors and nets.[44] Overfishing of herbivore populations can cause algal growths on reefs. The Batfish Platax pinnatus has been observed to significantly reduce algal growths in studies simulating overfishing.[45] Sharks are fished for their meat, and when they are part of bycatch, it is common to kill the shark and throw it overboard, as there is a belief that they interfere with fishing.[46] As of 1 July 2004, approximately one-third of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is protected from species removal of any kind, including fishing, without written permission.[47] However, illegal poaching is not unknown in these no-take zones.[4