possible hobby changing info

[mellotang]

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/04/08/voice-opinion-oppose-endangered-listing-corals/

What do you guys make of this?

Im a little torn... I love the ocean and want it to be preserved, but I also have grown quite a few SPS on this list, leaving me to wonder how these could be endangered. Im not to sure the info supplied to the government is that factual. Im sure there are corals that should be on this list but many of the acros listed grow easily in captivity. I would imagine they grow even faster in the ocean.

 

[ScorpionSys]

I feel that our hobby alone has very little to no impact on the reefs. A very small amount of coral is collected something like the period at the end of a sentence compared to all the text on MR. But the reefs are dying and there are people that will do what they can.

Can they stop the cutting down of forests which cause silt to cover reefs and kill miles of them not going to happen any time soon.

Can they stop accidents that leak millions of gallons of oil on them not ever.

Can they stop the ocean temp from rising and bleaching reefs?

Can they stop us from taking coral. Yep not that hard of a task. So even if we have the least impact on the issue we are the easiest to get rid of. Maybe we should be but I think our hobby helps more than it hurts reefs.

Thats just my opinion.

Its all about self preservation. Just like my favorite comedian of all time said "The planet ain't goin nowhere, We are"

 

[fritz]

History says reefs will do just fine. If the temp goes up they'll just return to their "summer" homes. Until the next ice age sends them back to the equator. There have been stony coral fossils found in the Midwest. Nothing about this hobby does the ocean justice. Go captive bred if you can and you can reduce your impact while increasing demand for captive bred animals.

 

[jayuws]

I actually thought about this on my last vacation to the caribbean. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal if I just brought back a few pieces of live rock with no corals on it. I could only fit a few lbs in my bag and it was not like I was selling it. So I thought it was no big deal. But then when I was there and I noticed all of the tourists taking souvenirs of shells, dead coral, sand and what ever they could grab and put in their chinatown shopping bags; I realized how destructive humans could be on a fragile ecosystem. Taking a small rock from the ocean is not going to do anything negative to the reef. But multiply that by the millions of tourists who take pieces of the reef home with them and soon we would have no reefs.
We should refuse to buy corals that were taken from natural reefs and only buy corals from manmade reefs. Maybe someday we can give it back to mother nature after all of the tourists and poachers stop taking for themselves.

 

[House of Laughter]

FRITZ!!!!! How you been?

Montipora Digitata :banghead: are they serious? From MR alone, I bet we could put hundreds if not thousands of frags back into the wild.

We, MR, should mount a counter campaign, start a non for profit who's sole purpose is to put corals back into the wild!

My .02

House

 

[ScorpionSys]

I actually thought about this on my last vacation to the caribbean. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal if I just brought back a few pieces of live rock with no corals on it. I could only fit a few lbs in my bag and it was not like I was selling it. So I thought it was no big deal. But then when I was there and I noticed all of the tourists taking souvenirs of shells, dead coral, sand and what ever they could grab and put in their chinatown shopping bags; I realized how destructive humans could be on a fragile ecosystem. Taking a small rock from the ocean is not going to do anything negative to the reef. But multiply that by the millions of tourists who take pieces of the reef home with them and soon we would have no reefs.
We should refuse to buy corals that were taken from natural reefs and only buy corals from manmade reefs. Maybe someday we can give it back to mother nature after all of the tourists and poachers stop taking for themselves.

Coral is a renewable resource hobbyists take a few pieces and they grow back. Rock is formed everyday. Parrot fish create sand in such abundance there are small islands formed all the time. The issues with the coral reefs is not the hobbyists and collectors I do not care what anyone says. The issues are with the pollution we cause which is not going to stop as long as we inhabit the planet.

The planet has been around for billions of years we are just another creature that has the pleasure to walk on it. Our pollution will destroy us and when we leave the planet will cleanse itself and be no different than when we arrived. Trust me long after we are gone the planet will still be here with new reefs and coral, and clean air and water. Wonder what will take our place.

But again thats just my take on life.

 

[Audi0s]

House had a great idea, Id love to have a reason to pick up scuba and return these creatures to the wild, and sneak a vaca in also!