SE FL reef awareness ala Imax coral reef adventure

[MikeJacobs]

Thanks Marvel for a terrific if not sad end to a perfect birthday.

Coral Reef Adventure provides terrific visual illustrations of "healthy reef" and "unhealthy reef." I'm saddened tonight to reflect that most of our reefs here favor the "unhealthy" scenes.

Being new to reef diving (they don't do coral in CA), I hope that the degredation in our local reefs I've seen during the summer is seasonal and the result of temporary warming and sedimentation (these are the two major reef killers according to the film).

I was also sickened at the carniage folliwing mini-season - toppled sea fans and crushed barrel sponges wherever a tenatious bug-hunter attempted a prize (and I was one of you). We compound the trauma every year.

Clearly, whatever the causes, there are stretches of stone dead reef nearby that once clearly flourished... never to return.

While the IMAX will make me much more careful about dragging equipment or what I touch, there's little more I can imagine doing. I've had first hand experience lobbying for governmental solutions - imagine a shore-dive license or permit requiring a test and continuing education... I fear the necessary fees and typical ineffectiveness of the government program would be a tremendous disappointment and a setback.

So, tonight even though there are dozens of issues to warrant my concern - 9/11 and its aftermath, world hunger, I'm another year older, etc., I'm just damned saddened by the condition of Broward reefs.

I keep comparing them to the "unhealthy" reefs in the film and thinking that one day we may only see... rubble.

Comments? Consolations? Words of wisdom?

 

[aihfl]

Awareness is always a good first step toward fixing a problem.

 

[CAPT HOOK]

Mike,

You seem to do mostly shore dives, jump on a boat and head offshore a little and you'll find the reefs in much better shape.
No where as healthy as the could be but better. Still lots of damage from the bug hunters and videotogs (?) but better than closer to shore.
Been here for a year and a half and still amazed by the marine life and corals every time we go diving.

 

[rjdiver]

my experiences with being on a boat with bug hunters seems to indicate that most buggers forget about the reef when a decent size bug is within range. I have seem too much damage being done to be able to catch dinner. I would love to catch some bugs, but then I may be part of the problem. During the off season, many of these folk are very careful about not dragging about while underwater (above water is another story).

 

[DennisS]

MikeJacobs once bubbled...
Thanks Marvel for a terrific if not sad end to a perfect birthday.




While the IMAX will make me much more careful about dragging equipment or what I touch, there's little more I can imagine doing. I've had first hand experience lobbying for governmental solutions - imagine a shore-dive license or permit requiring a test and continuing education... I fear the necessary fees and typical ineffectiveness of the government program would be a tremendous disappointment and a setback.


Comments? Consolations? Words of wisdom?

Could you see Broward county proposing a shore dive license to protect the reef from divers, that would be laughable.

Their plan is to cover acres of reef next year in the beach renourishment plan. If you've been around the south end of the county where they plan to start, you've probably seen the barges placing large limestone boulders. These are reparations? mitigations? for covering the living reef with sand. The sedimentation will stress a lot of the remaining reef. Somehow I don't think we need to worry about dive licensing from broward county, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. They do more damage on purpose than an army of rec divers could do accidentally.

If that's not enough there is the natural gas pipeline that will be coming across from the Bahamas next year and landing around J Loyd Park and lots of proposed telecommuncation cables coming across the reef. When they dredged Hilsborough Inlet the dredge company dragged cables and destroyed an area of really nice coral. Somehow the dredge ccompany wasn't financially responsible for the incident and the cost was passed on to the taxpayers, I'm not clear of the details but remember reading it in amazement. I don't think we need to worry about shore diver licensing.

 

[MikeJacobs]

DennisS once bubbled... SNIP... Their plan is to cover acres of reef next year in the beach renourishment plan. ...SNIP... I don't think we need to worry about shore diver licensing.

I've been having so much fun I've missed all the latest news about this... will look it up. Oh, and I *hope* you don't think I would every favor shore licensing/permits lol.

 

[MikeJacobs]

Oh, one more observation and I'll shut up (or at least get off the soap box for a while).

Today I found a coral mound that had recently been broken off and turned over - I could barely right it because of its size. The soft coral was still a bit orange, so maybe they will live, but it's only a matter of time, right?

There are dozens and dozens of these mounds that have been overturned. None could have been done by divers. Isn't there any law about anchoring ON a coral reef?

I gotta stop stressing over this... it's difficult not to think about kicking out to have a talk with a boater I see right now who is probably anchored to the reef.