Today in "Aljazeera"

With the probable good bet that few here daily read this news site as I do, will take the the liberty of posting the following...

(Aljazeera)

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1BFC2B5D-ED15-4DFB-A2BF-2D4FDD9989BD.htm

Delicacy and danger in Red Sea
Tuesday 16 December 2003, 16:41 Makka Time, 13:41 GMT

The Red Sea has a virtual treasure trove of brightly coloured fish and plants which lure divers by the hundreds, but the fat, slug-like sea cucumber is causing some to risk their lives.

The unlikely looking creature is prized throughout Asia as an aphrodisiac, or healing agent. With unemployed Egyptians looking for easy money, officials fear more diving accidents and destruction of coral reefs through the possible extinction of this toxin filtering creature.

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A medicine in some Asian nations and an aphrodisiac in others​

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Common varieties are 30-40cm
long but some can exceed 2m​

The sea cucumber risks being poached to extinction in Egypt, which would threaten the life of the Red Sea by annihilating a basic building block of its ecosystem, experts say.

"Coral reefs in the Red Sea can be likened to a desert oasis. Without the reef as a source of nutrients the entire ecosystem of the sea would collapse" (Muhammad Habib Egyptian environmentalist)

"Without the reef as a source of nutrients the entire ecosystem of the sea would collapse," deterring certified divers and snorkellers, and hurting the vital tourism industry, he said.

Marine earthworm

The sea cucumbers do the job of an earthworm in soil, recycling waste and aerating the sea floor, but it looks more like a fat slug or a squat, overstuffed sausage.

Trailing sand-coloured beads of nutrient-rich excrement behind, as it creeps millimetres per minute along the sea floor, this ugly relative of the starfish filters toxins out of the water.

Whether disgusting or delicious, sea cucumbers are essential for keeping the water clean and the snorkelers coming back, according to an environmental group which seeks to maintain the Red Sea's top rank among dive sites worldwide.
(More on site)


Respectfully,

OmarD

 

The Red Sea is so unique, I hope they can turn it around. :-/

 

Yikes,

Let's save the Red Sea!

 

you think countries would put restrictions on in order to preserve the oceans or wildlife but i wonder why they dont even think about it. if you consider it all works together one eco system actually effects another and that affects another. for example the rain forest affects rivers and streams, also has major effects on most of the earths weather, all the sediment and run off goes through the rivers to the oceans, then that effects marshes and mangroves, most young fish that live there go to sea after adult hood and all the toxins and pollutants are already in the fish which if caught comes back to us in one form or another

pretty sad isnt it