Reef Documentary School Project: We Need You!

Hey everyone,

So today, i wanted to talk to you guys about a little school project me and my friends are gonna make before the exams. So, we're making a school project, and we had alot of freedom to chose whatever topic we wanted, however it should be fitting with: Whats changing and what are the consequences?. So, immediately I thought that I could make something about reefs, and how they are dissappearing slowly, specifically in the Indo-Pacific, however, we also havea little bit about our discoveries in the Mariana Trench, aswell as endangered sea mammals in the Indo-Pacific. So, our topic got accepted, and my teachers apparently expect me to get top notch grades, which is okay, but I think the expectations might be really high, which i'm not worried about, but you know. Its kinda stressful to think about. Anyway, we're gonna divide it into 3 different categories.

Deep Sea Exploration: What do we discover, and what do we learn?
Reefs Dissapearing: What are they, and what consequences will it have for them to dissappear?
Endangered Sea Mammals: What are they and why do they die or get killed?

Now, what i thought would be very nice, is that we will make a presentation, and, in this presentation, we need to come forward with something creative and unique. Now, i already have some dead coral frags that I can show to the audience and the teachers under the presentation, but I was thinking one thing: You guys! I want to hear your guys opinion on this, because WE as aquarium hobbyists are the ones who are a part of saving these reef habitats. So what i want to ask you guys, is that if you would be very nice, and answer to one question, that I can show to the audience, so that I can show, that we're actually doing something useful, and we as reef hobbyists are always trying to do so. So, here is the question:

What do you do as an aquarium reef hobbyist, to make sure that you dont damage the reef habitats?

- I know that I try to buy things that aren't wild caught, and will only buy coral, that are raised by other hobbyists as much as I possibly can. Overfishing is bad in the reefs, and it must be stopped.

Thank you guys, I hope you will answer, so that we really can show that this problem is real, and it should be dealt with as fast as we can. Thats our main goal, to tell that we should be aware of what we do to our environments.

 

That's an excellent question!

Unfortunately, there's no answer to that as of yet. EVERY reef aquarium in existence has had an impact on wild reefs and thus nobody is doing something to be SURE their tank doesn't damage wild reefs.

That said, nearly everyone in the hobby is now pushing towards a point when we may be able to answer that question through the aquaculture of all sorts of aquarium animals.

Personally, I frag and grow as much coral as possible in the hopes that in the future we will have captive strains of most corals being passed about the country, and it will not only become immoral to collect from the wild, but also a poor livestock decision to buy wild in the first place.

Not sure if you're interested, but I also want to share something that I think needs to change in order for us all to move forward. The sustainable movement has been thrown around in the industry in ways that have turned it into a hypocritical practice at best. No matter how you slice it, selling thousands of tank bred clowns and aquacultured corals doesn't even make the selling of ONE moorish idol a sustainable practice.

 

Thank you very much for answering!

 

BWFT, I would google how fish are collected off reefs, illegally, I must add. I'll give you a hint: cyanide.

As mike was getting at, some animals should simply be left alone. Fragging is probably one of our best ways to help the reefs, as coral is the foundation of any reef.

For the average hobbyist, the only thing we can really do is buy aquacultured, and really look into the care needs of an animal before a purchase is made. Unfortunately for every responsible reef keeper, there seems to be 10 people buying tangs and mandarins for their 20 gallon along with impossible corals, like chili corals.

 

Thank you very much Va Reef! Yeah, i've heard about the cyanide fishcatching stuff. I know that my LFS hate it, and they never buy it from other but aquaculturing sources