Posted by admin in Endangered Animals | 0 Comments
UN proposes new coral reef protections
Warning: strip_tags() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /home/propelea/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 631
There is a danger lurking in the world’s oceans, and it’s not Jaws. Earlier this week, a White House task force revealed that hypoxia has increased off of U.S. coasts, multiplying the number of "dead zones" by 30-fold since a half-century ago. Now, however, it’s coral reefs that are in danger.
Coral reefs – which serve as nurseries for fish from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean – are currently being threatened by a number of factors, including climate change, pollution and over-fishing, Reuters reports. If the average temperature of the oceans continues to rise, there could be lasting repercussions.
As a result, the United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health has released a study recommending that a network of small no-fishing zones be created to protect the most vulnerable reefs. Scientists resisted suggesting large no-fishing zones as they are often considered "excessive for conservation" and harmful to fisherman, according to the news source.
"People have been creating marine protected areas for decades. Most of them are totally ineffective," Peter Sale, a leader of the study, told Reuters. "You need a network of protected areas that functions well. It’s important to get away from single protected areas, which has been the common approach."
Additionally, in the past, when large protected areas have been established, it has proven to be potentially harmful to other ecosystems, such as mangroves, which often house many of the species that go to live in the reefs as adults.
Some scientists are taking extreme measures to ensure coral reefs survive. The University of Hawaii has created the first frozen coral cell bank. According to university biologist Mary Hagedorn, the frozen material will last, in theory, up to 1,000 years.
Related Posts
