Reefing Hobby and Natural Reefs

[Bato367]

Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to 'critical' level due to climate change - ABC News (go.com)

In response to ever grim news, do you know/believe that our hobby has a positive affect on natural reefs or a negative affect? Why or why not? Are there things our hobby/industry is doing to help natural reefs?

I love our hobby but one thing (primarily years ago) that I hated about the hobby was that live rock was ripped right from natural reefs. Now of course we have better options.

Not looking to start an internet argument or delve into politics, I am just curious about how the industry is doing good or bad for natural reefs? I honestly don't know the answer.

Have a good day.

 

[Bato367]

Ok then. This lounge is hopping!

 

[fish farmer]

When I was in college in the late 1980's one of my professors had done studies about reef fishes, so I connected with the hobby and the "fishing" techniques of the time. I wonder if anything has really changed.

Net caught fishing were being pushed back in the early 2000's? Here is an article from 2007 https://www.tfhmagazine.com/article...lection-by-indonesian-collectors-full-article


Here are more recent articles that delve into the use of cyanide for collection of marine ornamentals.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5529361/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-we-ever-have-cyanide-free-aquarium-fish-180963255/
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/reef_fish_in_peril/pdfs/Poisoned_waters.pdf

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I don't think it has much of a positive affect, and the only negativity seems to come from wild caught fish and coral, however if one day life in the oceans went bye bye, there could be a chance of replenishing at least some life from corals/fish and stuff from the reefing hobby.