Humans Need To Change the Way They Think About Coral Reefs
What can be done by humans to take better of the world’s coral reefs? Many people don’t realize that coral reefs are a necessity to support marine life. Currently it is estimated that 10% of the world’s coral reefs have been wiped out and in the Philippines 70% of the coral reefs have been destroyed because of human intervention (Coral Reef Destruction and Conservation). This will be one of humanity’s biggest problems in the near future. By not purchasing certain fish accessories (jewelry) and certain reef fish, reducing the amount of pollution humans cause that increases global warming, stopping deep sea mining and only using organic and ecological fertilizers coral reefs, ecosystems …show more content…
The fish food trade is currently valued at more than $1 billion dollars (Threat to Coral Reefs: Trade in Coral Organisms). That staggering number seems to still be on the incline, due to it being a very productive and beneficial business. The fact of the matter is, all of this illegal fishing and taking of various species of fish is having a very bad effect on the coral reefs. Methods for capturing these fish such as using cyanide to stun fish for capture, coral mining, and blast fishing, are hurting these coral reefs. Using cyanide as a particular example, is especially bad due to how poisonous it is. Fishermen commonly use this poison to stun the fish they want, but also kill the surrounding fish and corals (Threat to Coral Reefs: Trade in Coral Organisms). When the corals die, it takes a very long time for them to come back, usually around 10,000 years to fully grow back. Corals only grow about 0.5 to 2.0 cm per year ( Coral Reefs). There needs to be a set of laws that are enforced by all the world’s countries to effectively protect coral reef …show more content…
This can result in Eutrophication is where the nutrient load gets to an extent that the community becomes dominated by algal/seaweed, exceeding the capacity to control by grazing organisms (Threats to Coral Reefs-Human Impacts). This disrupts these coral reef ecosystems. With a lack of nutrients there is a side effect of coral reefs not being able to get the nutrients that they need because there is an influx of algae present that take all of the nutrients away. What can be done to reduce this? With the use of organic fertilizers instead of these toxic ones humans use, the coral reef ecosystems can have one less issue that damages these
What can be done by humans to take better of the world’s coral reefs? Many people don’t realize that coral reefs are a necessity to support marine life. Currently it is estimated that 10% of the world’s coral reefs have been wiped out and in the Philippines 70% of the coral reefs have been destroyed because of human intervention (Coral Reef Destruction and Conservation). This will be one of humanity’s biggest problems in the near future. By not purchasing certain fish accessories (jewelry) and certain reef fish, reducing the amount of pollution humans cause that increases global warming, stopping deep sea mining and only using organic and ecological fertilizers coral reefs, ecosystems …show more content…
The fish food trade is currently valued at more than $1 billion dollars (Threat to Coral Reefs: Trade in Coral Organisms). That staggering number seems to still be on the incline, due to it being a very productive and beneficial business. The fact of the matter is, all of this illegal fishing and taking of various species of fish is having a very bad effect on the coral reefs. Methods for capturing these fish such as using cyanide to stun fish for capture, coral mining, and blast fishing, are hurting these coral reefs. Using cyanide as a particular example, is especially bad due to how poisonous it is. Fishermen commonly use this poison to stun the fish they want, but also kill the surrounding fish and corals (Threat to Coral Reefs: Trade in Coral Organisms). When the corals die, it takes a very long time for them to come back, usually around 10,000 years to fully grow back. Corals only grow about 0.5 to 2.0 cm per year ( Coral Reefs). There needs to be a set of laws that are enforced by all the world’s countries to effectively protect coral reef …show more content…
This can result in Eutrophication is where the nutrient load gets to an extent that the community becomes dominated by algal/seaweed, exceeding the capacity to control by grazing organisms (Threats to Coral Reefs-Human Impacts). This disrupts these coral reef ecosystems. With a lack of nutrients there is a side effect of coral reefs not being able to get the nutrients that they need because there is an influx of algae present that take all of the nutrients away. What can be done to reduce this? With the use of organic fertilizers instead of these toxic ones humans use, the coral reef ecosystems can have one less issue that damages these