Thirty years of unique data reveal what's really killing coral reefs

[LARedstickreefer]

This. This is why I hold zero hope for a solution and am certain ecosphere has no alternative but to die-off to the point where that it also takes us out, to enable any possibility of recovery.

Over the past three decades we have witnessed the evolution of a near perfect culture of denialism and conspiracy. It is so deeply polarised and rooted, in not just political, but also cultural, economic and religious alliances that it is absolutely insurmountable now.

I have faith we will pull through. It will take the laying down of pride and the taking up of humility and FAIR compromise. Something will be the trigger that will cause the public to rally. Government, neither side, will be the answer. Life finds a way, we are also part of that life, therefore have it in us.

 

[Tjm23slo]

Over the past three decades we have witnessed the evolution of a near perfect culture of denialism and conspiracy. It is so deeply polarised and rooted, in not just political, but also cultural, economic and religious alliances that it is absolutely insurmountable now.

The political groups have polarized the vocal masses on ideological hyperbole using shaming. They are making it about us vs them. Are you right or wrong about items where there is no implementable solution that is measurable or verify the correct stance. How do you implement a carbon tax (with all of it's loopholes) and measure its real impact on a changing global climate?

Binary arguments like you believe in science or not. Climate change, science is proven (climate deniers). A fetus is a living organism, science is proven. (I have a right to my body) Science is meant to be challenged, questioned, proofed, validated. Calling people deniers are an act to shame them an back them away from the collective agreed upon known. The world was flat until it wasn't. These are religious arguments which have no answer. Arguments are to prove who is right. Discussions are to come to terms on what is right.

This is why potential remedies must be local, impactful, actionable, measureable to determine if this solution can be replicated somewhere else. Florida keys has an interest (economic, environmental, quality of life) to take action (spend money upgrading sewage systems), them measure the results then see if it impacts the reefs, red tides, etc. It's in their own self interest to bring in more tourism, research $, air quality on algae blooms.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

The political groups have polarized the vocal masses on ideological hyperbole using shaming. They are making it about us vs them. Are you right or wrong about items where there is no implementable solution that is measurable or verify the correct stance. How do you implement a carbon tax (with all of it's loopholes) and measure its real impact on a changing global climate?

Binary arguments like you believe in science or not. Climate change, science is proven (climate deniers). A fetus is a living organism, science is proven. (I have a right to my body) Science is meant to be challenged, questioned, proofed, validated. Calling people deniers are an act to shame them an back them away from the collective agreed upon known. The world was flat until it wasn't. These are religious arguments which have no answer. Arguments are to prove who is right. Discussions are to come to terms on what is right.

This is why potential remedies must be local, impactful, actionable, measureable to determine if this solution can be replicated somewhere else. Florida keys has an interest (economic, environmental, quality of life) to take action (spend money upgrading sewage systems), them measure the results then see if it impacts the reefs, red tides, etc. It's in their own self interest to bring in more tourism, research $, air quality on algae blooms.

I agree 100% with you. The problem is that we are human and humans are self centered by nature. So is the rest of creation. We have to rise above this in order to reach the other isle.

Shaming others only makes us feel better about ourselves. It’ll never produce lasting results, only division and tension.

You can’t help how you feel, but you can help how you act.

 

[marco fish]

To whom it may Concern...
So this article hits close to home for me, I am a Commercial Fisherman (Yellowtail Snapper to be exact), and also fished for Lobster, Stone Crab, and even fished for shrimp in Biscayne Bay with wing nets that do not harm the grass beds because the nets do not drag the bottom, we caught the free floating shrimp that ran certain times of the year. Yes a Humble Steward of the Sea, a Commercial Fisherman in Key West Fl, for over 27 years. I am 43 years old now and my journey as a fisherman started in Miami as a kid ! I have fished from Biscayne Bay to West of the Dry Tortugas ! I also have been Reefing for at least 22 years... I have seen with my own eyes how the reef has been destroyed in Miami by our ignorance and love for money! That’s why I had to move to Key West to make a living because any reef north of Elliot Key is basically Dead, so Sad! It’s not due to Overfishing like a lot popular channels like to BLAME Us, it’s Due to run off from farming, and waste water being pump into the ocean by unimaginable amounts of gallons of Poo water! Let me also not forget the millions of gallons of fresh water pumped out of Lake Okeechobee every year that kills everything in its path saltwater, from creeks to inlets, to 6-8 miles off shore! I have seen it with my own eyes happening year after year. Come on Y’all The ELEPHANT has been sitting in the living room for over 40 years and no one sees it, or seems to not care about it !!! The floor is about to fall from under our feet if nothing is done about the problem soon, everything good that is being done now a days, from coral reef restoration programs, coral restoration projects, and all of rest, it will all have been invane, and that’s even sadder! I am a conservationist, a scientist and a person that lives off this beautiful ocean, and will to the day I die. I not only care about it, I try to tell people on a daily basis about this problem, and have met and taken out with me fishing without mentioning names, the head of FWC, people that sit in the Gulf Council, a state senator, and even the head of NOAA...
Anyone who dares tell me that I/We (commercial Fisherman) are taking the snapper, grouper and sharks from the ocean at an alarming rate in Florida, is just plain Ignorant and should get their facts correct!!! We are the most scrutinized, the most regulated, and the most attacked or pointed the finger at when it comes to these matters. I am really quite tired of it, and so are a lot of my fellow fisherman friends. We are of a dying breed, the first ones that are going to be extinct !!!!!
My rant is now over and I am ready to take anyone out fishing with me that wants to see it with there own eyes! Send me a PM.
As to the OP, I Sincerely Thank You for putting this article on here. Yes this has been happening for a long time, and not only in Looe Key, but to the North, South, East, and West from there too! It’s very SAD but the more we talk about it, the more we put it out there, and the more we bother the right people, we will come to a solution. And this goes on a Global scale as well... I am as concerned about these issues as everyone on here is. I harvest fish from this ocean in the morning and I come home to grow corals in the afternoon, I will also have my own little coral farm one day so that I can also share this with the rest of the community. So now I have explained why I am also a conservationist, a scientist, a highly observant fisherman, and why I am so Passionate about the things I do and Love the most in this world. I Thank You again @rgulrich for putting this article on here

 

[LARedstickreefer]

To whom it may Concern...
So this article hits close to home for me, I am a Commercial Fisherman (Yellowtail Snapper to be exact), and also fished for Lobster, Stone Crab, and even fished for shrimp in Biscayne Bay with wing nets that do not harm the grass beds because the nets do not drag the bottom, we caught the free floating shrimp that ran certain times of the year. Yes a Humble Steward of the Sea, a Commercial Fisherman in Key West Fl, for over 27 years. I am 43 years old now and my journey as a fisherman started in Miami as a kid ! I have fished from Biscayne Bay to West of the Dry Tortugas ! I also have been Reefing for at least 22 years... I have seen with my own eyes how the reef has been destroyed in Miami by our ignorance and love for money! That’s why I had to move to Key West to make a living because any reef north of Elliot Key is basically Dead, so Sad! It’s not due to Overfishing like a lot popular channels like to BLAME Us, it’s Due to run off from farming, and waste water being pump into the ocean by unimaginable amounts of gallons of Poo water! Let me also not forget the millions of gallons of fresh water pumped out of Lake Okeechobee every year that kills everything in its path saltwater, from creeks to inlets, to 6-8 miles off shore! I have seen it with my own eyes happening year after year. Come on Y’all The ELEPHANT has been sitting in the living room for over 40 years and no one sees it, or seems to not care about it !!! The floor is about to fall from under our feet if nothing is done about the problem soon, everything good that is being done now a days, from coral reef restoration programs, coral restoration projects, and all of rest, it will all have been invane, and that’s even sadder! I am a conservationist, a scientist and a person that lives off this beautiful ocean, and will to the day I die. I not only care about it, I try to tell people on a daily basis about this problem, and have met and taken out with me fishing without mentioning names, the head of FWC, people that sit in the Gulf Council, a state senator, and even the head of NOAA...
Anyone who dares tell me that I/We (commercial Fisherman) are taking the snapper, grouper and sharks from the ocean at an alarming rate in Florida, is just plain Ignorant and should get their facts correct!!! We are the most scrutinized, the most regulated, and the most attacked or pointed the finger at when it comes to these matters. I am really quite tired of it, and so are a lot of my fellow fisherman friends. We are of a dying breed, the first ones that are going to be extinct !!!!!
My rant is now over and I am ready to take anyone out fishing with me that wants to see it with there own eyes! Send me a PM.
As to the OP, I Sincerely Thank You for putting this article on here. Yes this has been happening for a long time, and not only in Looe Key, but to the North, South, East, and West from there too! It’s very SAD but the more we talk about it, the more we put it out there, and the more we bother the right people, we will come to a solution. And this goes on a Global scale as well... I am as concerned about these issues as everyone on here is. I harvest fish from this ocean in the morning and I come home to grow corals in the afternoon, I will also have my own little coral farm one day so that I can also share this with the rest of the community. So now I have explained why I am also a conservationist, a scientist, a highly observant fisherman, and why I am so Passionate about the things I do and Love the most in this world. I Thank You again @rgulrich for putting this article on here

Poo water is why I won’t eat Talapia. I also insist on wild caught fish. I’m picky like that!