With Cruise ships ramming entire reefs these days (recently happened with a UK Cruiseship destroying one of the most pristine Coral Reefs in Indonesia) the question came up what the biggest threats to Coral Reefs are. And of course there is unfortunately more than just one: Ocean acidification, global warming, cruise ships, anchors, Dynamite fishing, bottom trawling, Nutrient input from land, loose sediment being washed in from shore and the list goes on and on. With so many threats lined up it is a matter of time before reefs get on a declining path and as a matter of fact they have been on it for about 50 years. Ever since the industriel revolution kicked in, Reefs got knocked out. Due to malpractices at sea but also changing climates. One of the biggest issues in the early stages were bottom trawlers, simply wiping out entire reefs in one single pass. Nowadays we are facing more "sophisticated" problems that are also manmade but more of an indirect impact. With rising temp
Comments
Post a Comment