Science and Society
Coral Reefs in Danger
Name________________________________
Date ________________________________
In your textbook, you read about some of the issues relating to the dangers faced by coral
reefs. Coral reefs are hard, like rocks, but the coral animals that inhabit the reefs are actually
quite delicate. Undersea divers who explore coral reefs for recreational purposes can damage
them. How would you balance the protection of coral reefs with the desire of recreational
divers to explore them? This page is designed to give you more information that will help
you better understand the issue before forming your own opinion.
Diving Dangers
With around 3.5 million recreational divers in the United States, it is difficult to guarantee
that no harm will occur to coral reefs. Divers do the greatest damage to coral reefs when they
take pieces to add to their own collections or to sell for profit. Divers can also cause a
significant amount of damage by standing or walking on a coral reef. Since corals are such
fragile animals, even a soft touch with a hand or a fin can hurt them. Thick gloves and
kneepads shield divers from the environment, so divers who wear them may be less aware of
when they are in direct contact with a coral reef. Other bulky equipment, like cameras and
flashlights, may accidentally drag along or get snagged upon the rough surface of a coral
reef. Also, sand disturbed by a diver's fins may be deposited on top of a coral reef,
smothering and killing the coral animals. This is most likely to happen when a diver is
swimming very fast, getting into the water, or climbing out of the water near a coral reef.
Serious damage may also be caused by the boat used by a diver to get to the diving zone,
especially if the boat maintains its position by dropping an anchor to the bottom rather than
tying to a mooring buoy. Trash left behind by divers, whether accidentally or intentionally,
may damage or poison coral reefs and animals.
Although the dangers posed by divers are numerous, many of them can be avoided. For
instance, a diver is more likely to bump into a coral reef in a moment of panic caused by
equipment problems or disorientation. Situations like these can be prevented with proper
training and experience. Furthermore, a well-conditioned diver with strong swimming skills
will have an easier time avoiding coral reefs than a weaker
swimmer.
Other Dangers to Coral
Divers are not the only cause of damage to coral reefs.
Humans damage coral in other ways as well. Because coral
reefs usually form near shorelines, they are vulnerable to
human pollution that washes into the ocean, such as sewage, fertilizers, and pesticides. Some
ships spill chemicals and dump trash that can damage or kill coral. Fishing practices like
cyanide fishing or blast fishing, which are banned in many places, are also a serious hazard.
Increased tourism in some coastal areas also poses a threat to coral reefs, since pieces of
coral are sold as souvenirs and building materials are often blasted or dredged from areas
with fragile coral reefs.
Natural events also damage coral reefs. Sediment deposited onto a coral reef by a nearby
river outlet can smother and kill the coral animals. Tropical storms break apart coral reefs
and stir up additional sediment. One of the biggest natural threats to coral reefs is global
warming. Global warming might lead to increased tropical storms, ocean temperatures, sea
levels, floods, and droughts. High ocean temperatures cause a condition called "coral
bleaching" in which coral animals are starved. Rapidly rising sea levels could prevent coral
animals from gaining nutrients through photosynthesis. Heavy flooding in some areas might
increase the amount of sedimentation on coral reefs. Extended drought in other areas might
also increase sedimentation, due to large amounts of airborne dust.
Importance of Tourism
Although tourism can endanger coral reefs, in many places, coral reefs are major tourist
attractions that bring money and jobs to people in local communities. For example, over 1.6
million people visit Australia's Great Barrier Reef each year. This makes the Great Barrier
Reef the most frequently visited natural feature in all of Australia. The visitors to the reef are
important because tourism makes up a large portion of Australia's national economy. In the
fiscal year 2000–2001, tourists spent a total of 71.2 billion dollars in Australia. Almost one
quarter of that amount was spent by visitors who came from a country other than Australia,
making tourism Australia's single largest export. In addition to profits, tourism brings tax
revenue. In the fiscal year 2000–2001, the tourism industry earned the Australian
government $5.5 billion in taxes. Plus, tourism is an industry that involves a relatively large
amount of human labor, so it creates many jobs. As of 2001, tourism employed about
550,000 people in Australia, making up six percent of all jobs. Many of these jobs are
available to young people and to people living in areas outside major cities, such as the
region near the Great Barrier Reef. Without tourism, people in those areas may have a more
difficult time earning a living. Therefore, a ban or severe restriction on diving near the Great
Barrier Reef and other popular reefs could hurt local businesses and employees as well as
the national economy, especially in smaller nations that are even more dependent on tourism
than Australia. Somehow, the protection of coral reefs must be balanced with the interests of
the people who want to explore them or work near them.
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ceh-2010