Ravaging the Reefs

[jhale]

This is a horrible practice happening now, please read this story online at
conservation frontlines online


the first paragraphs from the story,

Ravaging the Reefs
The Asian Live Fish Trade
John Tidwell, Staff Writer

"Coron Island, the Philippines: The sun was setting as white-haired Teopisto Aguillar dropped a length of fishing line over the side of his canoe and watched its hooks descend into the emerald waters. Holding the line carefully between thumb and forefinger, he continued a tradition of artisanal fishing that his indigenous Tagbanwa ancestors practiced for centuries. Then the hulking shape of a large commercial fishing vessel appeared on the horizon, and with an oath, Aguillar turned his canoe toward shore. The pirates had arrived.

In a few weeks, other local fishermen working for them would scoop up almost every valuable fish in these waters to sell to both Philippine and foreign companies. They would employ destructive catch techniques that would damage or kill the corals and leave the reefs virtually bare and increasingly lifeless. Often armed, and with scant regard for protecting the resource, these outsiders are notorious for intimidating islanders and evading the local coast guard. Even when they are caught, the penalties imposed by the Philippine courts are usually light, if any are levied at all."

 

[jhale]

the results from the story above,

Disturbing Costs of Unsustainable Fishing

Wasteful fishing is not unique to the live fish trade. The global industrial fishing fleet has many times the capacity needed to extract marine wildlife sustainably. The unsustainable exploitation of fish and other marine wildlife is pushing ocean ecosystems to the brink of collapse.

Worldwide, some 35,000 legal, high-tech fishing vessels ply the seas.
In the past 50 years, the world?s fish catch grew more than fourfold?from roughly 20 million tons to 90 million tons.

During the same period, the variety of fish species dropped by as much as 50 percent because of overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change.
Ninety percent of large predator fish species such as cod, shark, and bluefin tuna have disappeared.

Industrial fishing generates about 25 million tons of unwanted by-catch?fish and marine mammals that are dumped overboard, dead or dying.
For every pound of wild-caught shrimp, at least 10 pounds of other sea life, including many fish otherwise sought as edible seafood, are also caught and discarded.

In the 1960s, the average swordfish hooked and landed weighed 266 pounds. Today, massive fishing pressure has reduced the average size to 90 pounds.

Long-line vessels annually set up to 10 billion baited hooks on lines as long as 60 miles. Millions of sharks, hundreds of thousands of sea birds and marine mammals, and numerous endangered sea turtles and other creatures die each year on those hooks.

Some 1,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die daily in trawl nets. Heavy bottom trawlers destroy delicate ocean floor habitat, much like bulldozers flattening a forest.

 

[jhale]

I'm disgusted by reading about this.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Missy Johnson]

wow that is really sad. not only the large 'harvesting' of natural resources but the lack of care taken in doing so. the 75% death rate of the fish taken, the snatching of fish from spawning grounds, and the exploiting of the local people both financially and physically. this article made me sick.

 

[inkblue]

Speaking as a reefer, this is VERY disturbing ...but as a Filipino, you have to know the economic situation back home. Like many developing countries, money is difficult to come by. I lived in Nigeria for 10 years and Nigerians often killed valuable animals for money. Why? Because they needed to feed their families.

It is easy for a foreign person to sit in their living rooms, with the air-conditioner turned on, sipping wine, watching the news talking about this monstrosity... I understand coz I do it too.

...now think, if you had a family, and you could barely feed your 2 year-old child and the only thing left to you is what's in the sea? Would you really give a crap what some foreigner thought of how or what you did to survive?

As bad as it may seem, its a means to living just like we buy stuff made by kids in sweat shops... I assume, to many of you - if not all, child labor would be considered worse than destroying corals... I certainly hope so or I am in the wrong forum.

PS. There was a movie that was made to make Filipinos aware of the reef destruction and hopefully make them stop. It's called Muro Ami. It shows how 5-15 year-old kids being hired to catch fish and other sea inhabitants, and in the process they would destroy the reefs by dropping rocks on them, to make noise. After you see this movie, you forget about the reefs, and feel the pain the parents had to endure to let their young child earn a living to put food on their plates. They would be gone for months living in sub-standard conditions.

Don't get me wrong. I just want you all to see the other side of the coin before you judge.

 

[Deanos]

Don't get me wrong. I just want you all to see the other side of the coin before you judge.

Thank you inkblue! I knew most people would be appalled by the article, without first considering "the other side"

 

[jhale]

that's true ink, but your missing the bigger picture.

If something is not done to stop the massive overfishing, and the economic enslavement of the people your speaking about then there will be nothing left in the sea for them to even try to make a living from.

this is a tragedy for the oceans environment as much as it's a tragedy in the making for those local people who depend on the sea for their livelihood.

 

[jhale]

Thank you inkblue! I knew most people would be appalled by the article, without first considering "the other side"

I don't think you can use that excuse "look at the other side" to condone the destruction of any environment. If the reefs and oceans are being destroyed by economic factors then those must be addressed. Obviously if they are not nothing will change.

That is what this group Conversation International is working to achieve.

 

[inkblue]

That is VERY true... :irked: the government is unwilling to try to stop this because it is money in their pockets - literally.

It's a tough problem when the people in charge are only concerned about one thing - themselves! :banghead:

 

[inkblue]

I don't think you can use that excuse "look at the other side" to condone the destruction of any environment. If the reefs and oceans are being destroyed by economic factors then those must be addressed. Obviously if they are not nothing will change.

That is what this group Conversation International is working to achieve.

true dat... but with New Orleans... they just "looked away"
:irked:

 

[zahner]

things like this really make you realize that humans as a species are short-sighted, parasitic organisms. there are so many examples of overfishing and irresponsible harvesting out there: swordfish, sturgeon for caviar, the chilean sea bass craze (aka patagonian toothfish heh heh), killing sharks just for fins, seahorses for medicine, you name it. it cuts across all cultures, rich and poor. when are people going to wake up?

 

[inkblue]

Amen :afro:

 

[Deanos]

If the reefs and oceans are being destroyed by economic factors then those must be addressed. Obviously if they are not nothing will change.

I wholeheartedly agree . However, you asked for our thoughts. My initial thought was that people would read the article and not consider the Filipinos point of view. Most of us are aware changes need to be made at the governmental and judicial levels (the article even refers to lax enforcement of penalties). So, to set the record straight, I in no way "condone" what is happening to the reefs in the Phillipines. I was merely supporting inkblue's statement as to why it's happening.

 

[herman]

When still living in Indonesia, I used to go on various dive trips every weekend to the surrounding islands. In the 80s everything was still in quite pristine condition. Reefs were intact as I went to reefs where people have not dived before. The last time I went was 4 years ago and things have definitely changed.

Yes I am absolutely disgusted that the reefs dont look the same anymore. I am disgusted by the fact that there are fewer fish around. I do see quite often people harvesting in and around the reefs. I walk around the fishing villages and I talk to alot of these harvesters. Like Inkblue says, these people are dirt poor and trying to sustain their families. Where in the past they all had jobs fishing, and trading amongst each other to sustain themselves, but with rising costs and dwindling resources and "industrial" competition, they dont stand a chance!

Who is to blame for all this? Why do these large vessels fish the way they do? Why did I see vast coral bleaching 5 years ago? Why are there barren rocks where there used to be pristine reefs? Why are beautiful lush jungles dissapearing in my home country.

The answer is quite simple. I am ashamed to say that it is our insatiable appetite for things. Whether it be rocks for our tanks, or coral for decor, or gasoline for our cars or sushi for dinner. We drive this distruction!!! Simple rule of supply and demand. Sure we can all talk about sustainable resources. But the fact is that if people would follow these practices, the costs would go up and who bitches and moans then. We do! We all think that all of our live rock and corals come from sustainable resources but lets get real!! There are always shortcuts being taken. Denial Denial DENIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! The fact is that other than fragged corals we get from each other we dont quite know where it came from. Even then at some point that was in the ocean too.

The reefing business is here to stay as long as we are around. One way to help out the crazy situation is not to experiment with these creatures. Dont overstock, dont put **** in your tanks that you know nothing about or cant possibly sustain. How often is it that we kill something and just go out and buy something new. Yeah we all say but its just one little thing but that is not the case. Just look at the tanks at petlands, petcos etc. They are disgusting and everything in there is dying!! We just blame the company, but who is really to blame? We are. We drive the business.

In one way or another we are all responsible for the devastation of resources on our planet. I deal with wood for musical instruments which means that I am responsible for beautiful ebony getting chopped down in Indonesia. I am no longer in denial but I also like my luxuries. I love my tank, I love my plasma tv, I love my car etc etc etc etc etc etc etc

My name is Herman and I am Human. Sad but the fact is that we are all greedy with insatiable appetites and most of all we all live in denial.

Just my 2 cents!

 

[Deanos]

Just my 2 cents!

That was more than 2 cents, but worth every penny. :hug:

 

[inkblue]

Damn Herman... you go boy! :lol: ...but he has a point. If this Forum did not exist with all its members, the demand wouldnt be there, the reef wouLd be safe... buT alas... we need rock, sps, lps, asap! :sigh1:

...so here we are :yo:

 

[NYPDFrogman]

it's a very sad state for both sides. as far as the hobby is concerned I NEVER buy fish from the Philippines. 95% of the fish are still caught with cyainde. and it destroys the surrounding corals.
they need to be educated otherwise they wont be able to do this much longer

 

[Nsr250NYC]

i agree with Herman. Greed is human nature. we will never be satisfied. once we have something, we want more.

 

[zahner]

greed is not human nature. it is a byproduct of the consumption driven society we live in and can be resisted. the pressure is to keep consuming more and do it faster.

MR does its part to decrease demand for wild stock thru frag swaps and by providing a place to buy and sell between reefers rather than pulling everything new from the sea. :grouphug:

 

[herman]

greed is not human nature. it is a byproduct of the consumption driven society we live in and can be resisted. the pressure is to keep consuming more and do it faster.

MR does its part to decrease demand for wild stock thru frag swaps and by providing a place to buy and sell between reefers rather than pulling everything new from the sea. :grouphug:

That is true! The mistake I will not make again is trying to set everything up quickly for immediate gratification as was the case with my first tank. The "education" I receive from MR and other forums is truly valuable.