Coral Disease and Damage
Around the world, snorkeling and scuba diving have become a fascinating tourist attraction. Although these activities are entertaining and fun to do, many people do not realize the damage it can actually cause to corals. The two types of problems that are apparent in highly scuba dived areas is the kicking of coral and the pollution that is released from boats. Researchers found that around an island off of Thailand, areas that weren't as highly dived had twice as many corals that were healthy. Along with the physical injury present on the coral in highly dived sites, there was also a significant amount of tissue damage and death in the corals. The tissue damage developed from the sediments that are kicked up from inexperienced divers swimming around.
Possible solution to this issue is to let only certified divers dive in areas that have a higher rate of coral damage. Another solution could be to have a quick debriefing on how to swim and respect the coral if the tourists are inexperienced in diving. Barriers to this solution, though, are that companies would lose a lot of money if they only allowed certified divers and many tourists may not pay attention to the debriefing.
Personally, I think the damaging of the coral is very unfortunate. These corals are home to many fish and if the corals die, so could the fish. I believe that only letting certified divers in the areas would be the best solution, but would be very hard to accomplish.
Possible solution to this issue is to let only certified divers dive in areas that have a higher rate of coral damage. Another solution could be to have a quick debriefing on how to swim and respect the coral if the tourists are inexperienced in diving. Barriers to this solution, though, are that companies would lose a lot of money if they only allowed certified divers and many tourists may not pay attention to the debriefing.
Personally, I think the damaging of the coral is very unfortunate. These corals are home to many fish and if the corals die, so could the fish. I believe that only letting certified divers in the areas would be the best solution, but would be very hard to accomplish.
The Realistic Solution
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I believe this is a very serious problem. These coral reefs are home to many organisms and fish(as said by you). Hurting the coral also means hurting the organisms living there. I believe your solution of only letting certified divers in that area is great, but is not very realistic. Unless laws are put into place, tourist companies will continue trying to make money by taking inexperienced and uncertified tourists out diving. However, your second solution is much more realistic and helpful. Having a debriefing is a great idea since it educates them about the situation and how to help not worsen the situation. Hopefully we can stop this problem before it destroys the coral completely.