“Coral Reefs Represent Some Of The World’S Most Spectacular

Coral reefs not only protect coastlines and beaches from wave damage and erosion, but also are the basis for the fishing and tourism industries. Dying reefs is a worldwide problem, and evidence shows that 10% of the entire world’s coral has died, and 60% will die by 2020 if existing conditions continue (NOAA 2000). The reason that the Australian Great Barrier Reef is so important is because not only is it the largest barrier reef in the world, but it is also one of the most evolved models of how to best manage and protect the world’s largest reef system (Ornitz 1996). It extends for 2,340 kilometers (km), covers 345,000 square km and contains 2,900 reefs, 300 coral cays and 600 continental islands (White 1999). Historically, it has been ahead of the rest of the world in terms of recognizing and addressing problems associated with reef degradation.

The Ocean is a miraculous place filled to the brim with foreign creatures and wondrous wildlife. From the Great Orcas of the Antarctic waters to the minuscule plankton, these marine life conquer the ocean's depths, but it's not just the creatures that reside here. Coral occupy their fair share of space upon the ocean's floor filling the waters with their glamour and residential charm for those in search of shelter.

Overfishing is a death sentence to the world’s oceans. As technology continues to improve a great deal of fish can be caught quicker; but at what cost? The effects of overfishing can lead to the extinction of not just the animals being fished, but also the predators that rely on fish to eat. Ninety percent of the ocean’s largest animals have been wiped out due to overfishing (“Overfishing- A Global Disaster”, 2011). National Geographic cites the academic journal Science (2006) that predicts by 2048, all fisheries will collapse due to lack of ocean wildlife. Fish are not the only animal caught in the nets used by fishing vessels. Often animals such as dolphins, sharks, turtles, and seabirds are

Coral reefs are one of the most exquisite ecosystems to look at. However, they’re being put in a lot of danger caused by humans. If something doesn’t change we won’t be able to see these coral reefs anymore. However, fishermen are the cause of this; they use this process ― even though they know it hurts the environment ― called bottom trawling. Fishermen are the main cause of the destruction towards the coral reefs. The central idea of the article, “ Ingenious Coralbots May Help Restore Coral Reefs”, is that humans should stop taking the coral reefs from their homes.

Consisting of less than 1% of the world oceans, the coral reefs are ancient animals comprising of thin calcium carbonate deposits within the photic layer. Aside from its biologically diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are major source of food for millions and provides habitats and nursery areas for many marine organisms. Coral reefs also act as a physical buffer to protect the coastlines from tropical storms and erosion. In addition, many local communities rely on coral reefs to generate an income through activities such as fishing and diving. However, 75% of the coral reefs are under threat from induced impacts of humans and climate change (Burke, et al., 2011). This essay looks at the human impacts constantly being inflicted on coral reefs.

First, I am going to talk about the importance of coral reefs. Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth. They are home to 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard coral, and hundreds of other species. Scientists believe that there are another 1 to 8 million unidentified species (NOAA). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, new drugs are being developed from

Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.

Overfishing is a global issue that has many negative effects on the environment (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Fish are a major resource that many people rely on for not only nutrition, but also for a means of income (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). As the population of the world increases, so does the demand for fish, which puts oceans under a lot of pressure (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Due to advanced fishing technologies and equipment, going out further into the oceans and catching huge amounts of fish is easier than ever (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Froese (2004) defines overfishing as capturing the fish before they reach their full growth potential and diminishing their chance of reproduction. In other

Fishers in the Atlantic Ocean seem to not care at all about the well being of the environment and they care more about the quick catch as I like to call it. The quicker the catch the faster the cash is filling selfish, greedy fisher’s pockets. They are willing to go to great lengths to get the fast money regardless of the lasting damage they cause. It all comes down to their bad fishing techniques. Bottom trawling is a good example of this. They make trawls with large rubber tires or rollers and they help for the net to move over the rocky regions and coral reefs of the ocean floor (Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices.) These trawls literally destroy homes for fish and make it nearly impossible for them to recover (Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices.) In fact, 4km of scars on the reefs of the north-east Atlantic Ocean have been found (Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices.) Dynamite fishing is the next bad fishing technique used. Okay, let’s just take a moment to think of how bad “dynamite fishing” sounds in and of its self. I think we can all understand what type of damage this does not only to the sea life, but to the environment. They literally kill all the fish and wait for them to float to the surface so they can easily scoop them up (Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices.) They must not be thinking with any foresight because the destruction that fishing like

Developing organizations, such as The Ocean Agency and the Coral Restoration Foundation, have been raising concern in efforts to conserve and furthermore sustain aquatic life and the ecosystem in which they inhabit. These unique fish, found living and populating among the coral reef, face a level of degradation and life threatening obstacles. The coral reef acts as a home to more than a quarter of the know fish species, where their population and species have been widely studied. This ecosystem is a beautiful representation of life which supports, and is supported by other neighboring ecosystems; embodying a significance as the leading consumer item for those who live along the reefs. Their importance to our planets collective ecosystem is not fully understood, due to the way these ecosystems are interconnected to one another, but nevertheless illustrates an example of a struggling life which may provide problems for both terrestrial and aquatic life-forms. Aside from the human dependency, being that “More than 450 million people live within 60 kilometers of coral reefs, with the majority directly or

When I walk into the California Coast, I saw a giant fish that made me feel surprised. We can see different fishes, coral reef and other marine organisms in there. There had two things that attracted my eyes, which were the flashlight fish and the beautiful coral reef. The flashlight fish was very interesting because we can see some light in their body in the darker environment. I learned that flashlight fish appear to blink by blocking the bacteria from view. They either rotate the light organ or cover it with a flap of skin. Only we saw the real flashlight fish that known how interesting these fishes looked. In addition, I saw many colorful coral reefs. I learned that the bleaching of coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef was very serious, so I was glad to see so many colorful coral reefs in here. I saw that some underwater structures may look like rock, but they were the skeletal remains of tiny animals called coral polyps. And I learned that thousands of known species, from fish and jellyfish to sponges and sea stars, all hide, breed, and feed in and around coral reefs. In order to see the colorful coral reefs in the sea, human should stop to pollute the

The Great Barrier Reef is distressed by numerous impacts. The reef is the world’s biggest living creature, fully made of coral stretching out to 2, 300km² and is also located just off the coast of Queensland. The prime problem for the reef is overfishing. Overfishing is severely intervening the ecosystem, which is in the reef. This is killing off the fish and gradually killing animals like sharks and starfish by devouring the food chain. The reef needs a good, stable and diverse amount of fish to sustain being healthy to continue growing upwards in sea-life. If one species of fish were to be extinct from the reef, it would then sluggishly take out another species after another, continuously until The Great Barrier Reef’s demise. Many of the sea creatures are protected by international law, to help protect them from the hard ecosystem we’ve put them in, with trawling and fishing being one of their biggest encounters and most lethal ones.

Responsible for more than one quarter of the ocean’s biodiversity, coral reefs or “rainforest of the sea” not only harbor millions of species but also provide daily nutrients to sustain marine life. Coral reefs prove to be an asset humans by offering food, economic services, and protection. However, coral reefs are experiencing rapid decline in locations which they once thrived due to harmful human activities; these activities is identified by pollution, overfishing or aggressive fishing, and tourism. Bordering coastlines of tropical countries these rocks shield humans by weakening powerful waves during storms. Sturdy but not indestructible they can easily crumple apart in rough weather, but not enough to potentially be fatal. Although laws

How often do we stop and think about the people that fish to provide the rest of the world with the supply of fish that is in demand. With many fisheries closing down due to poor managing and depletion, anglers are turning to the deep sea to fill their “fish orders”. Large fishing vessels also known as Super Trawlers are dragging fishing nets up to a mile deep. Doing this allows them to catch as many fish as possible, but it is also destroying natural habitat such as coral reefs that have been part of the sea for thousands of years. The effect of this is devastating to sea life.

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.