Solutions to Challenges Facing The Great Barrier: Over-Fishing, Blooming, and Global Warming
Posted by Lisa Carey
It has been called the most pristine coral reef in the world.
Today, ecologists recognize that the Great Barrier Reef is under attack and at risk. What solutions can save this valuable and beautiful natural resource?
The Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea on the coast of Australia is a unique biome that is home to millions of species of coral, plants and sea creatures. They range in size from monstrous to miniscule.
The threats to the Great Barrier Reef include the effects of global warming, over fishing, and pollution from run off.
Rising water temperatures from global warming have increased bleaching, which is when coral release algae that feeds them; that in turn drains them of their color and sometimes their life as well.
Over-fishing leaves not only a carbon footprint on the Great Barrier Reef but leaves imbalance in the predator verses prey chain that increases the predators for corals.
In a process known as blooming, seasonal flooding can generate agricultural run off. This run off can pollute the waters of the Great Barrier Reef because of the chemicals that are often used in farming.
These “enemies” have been identified, but most threats can be traced back to either direct or indirect human activity.
Are there viable solutions that can balance the needs of this unique biome with the needs of people?
First Challenge: Earth Friendly and Farm Friendly Solutions to Pollution
In general, farming and agricultural lands are more eco-friendly than urban development (think: strip malls and gas stations) of that same land.
Still, it is known that agricultural run-off is damaging the Great Barrier Reef.
However, rather than throwing blame at farmers for the environmental impact of their farming, solutions need to simultaneously help farmers and help the Great Barrier Reef.
How can reforms support both farmers and the neighboring environment?
Suggestions for fighting agricultural pollution in the Great Barrier Reef call for:
* Training for landowners and farmers
* More eco-friendly and natural ways to improve soil and crops
However, these things take money. Sources of funding for using green products and practices are needed.
Second Challenge: Fishing Threatens Marine Life and Also Supports a Way of Life
Recent forums have recognized that while over-fishing is damaging the delicate balance of life on the coral reef, that same fishing is also an important economical factor in the area. Beyond the dollars and cents, there is also a sense that when fisheries collapse communities lose not just a livelihood but a way of life.
Recent forums have called for:
* 30-50% of reefs to be set aside as “no take” or no fishing zones for long term protection
* larger fines for fishing offenses
* greater use of technology to enforce no fishing zones. (One example comes in the form of EPERBS, Emergency Personal Rescue Beacons.)
Shaun Connolly is an ecological modeler at the Centre for Coral Reef Diversity. In the same way that ecologists want to help the farmers while helping the environment, Connolly and others want to make it clear that they are not trying to hurt the fishing industry (an industry which is estimated to bring over $250 million annually to the economy of Australia).
Connolly argues that “no take zones allow higher sustainable harvest in the long run than traditional fisheries management.” He adds, “I want to emphasize that this 30% to 50% target is not a target that’s set to optimize conservation at the expense of healthy fisheries. The point here is that the calculations are based on methods that try to answer the question: how do we actually maximize the economic value of fisheries in the long term? In other words, no take zones allow you to catch more fish and make more money in the long run than the traditional fisheries’ methods.”
Third Challenge: Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming – Scientists Give a Strong Warning
Terry Hughes, Professor of Marine Science at James Cook University, spoke recently to the enormity of the challenge of global warming. Global warming leads to rising water temperatures around the world, including at the Great Barrier Reef.
“In contrast to overfishing and run-off, damaging effects of global climate change are not well understood although there’s not much doubt any more [of] the linkage between greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and coral bleaching,” says Hughes. “Global warming presents scientists with a huge intellectual challenge because the scale of processes and the scale of damage that’s occurring is bigger than most of our studies are designed to cope with.”
The ecologists working in Australia to protect the Great Barrier Reef recognize that global warming is a global issue that can’t be eradicated by Australia alone. However, as the only “developed” nation that is home to coral reefs, they’ve declared a commitment to lead the way in protecting coral reefs.
Terry Hughes says that “if we can’t save The Great Barrier Reef, then no one can. We have the ability; indeed Australia has the obligation to lead the world in preserving our coral reefs.”
Australia has been a leader in green reform. Australia was the first country to enact a phase out ban of energy wasting incandescent light bulbs, which hopefully will lead to a usage not of CFL’s, but of hyper-efficient LEDs. (See Going Green Around the World to learn more.)
And along with these changes, we believe can expect significant future green reforms in Australia’s efforts to save the magnificent biodiversity of their acclaimed coral reefs.
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We (Carrie and Jonathan) recently applied for “The Best Job In the World”.
While we weren’t shortlisted for this amazing contest,we did create a 1 minute video for the application process to explain “blooming” and how it can affect the reef. If you’d like to know more, watch the quick video below.
Popularity: 8% [?]
3 Responses to “Solutions to Challenges Facing The Great Barrier: Over-Fishing, Blooming, and Global Warming”
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Cornelis Langeveld says:
After reading the Great Barrier Reef and the farmers.
I would suggest the the farmers should go back to 2 acres per cow, so there will be less manure to spread on the land. This way they need less fertilizers (less polution)in the rivers and lakes, oceans. The farmers are way to big and can not control the waste.I am from farming back round so I know what it is.It takes about 2 acres per cow year round to keep them.
This is just a little Green enjoyment -
Hey Cornelis,
Thanks for that suggestion. How wiling do you think the farmers would be to do something like this? How willing do you think the government would be to pass laws that would create something like this? I don’t know how large of an agriculture lobby exists in Australia, but I know that in the US, something like that would be very difficult, if not impossible, to create.
Investing in improved practices may help reduce the impact of agriculture and grazing on the marine and reef ecosystem. But it may not necessarily turn into a sustained reduction in the impacts sufficient to prevent the gradual decline and collapse of the ecosystem. If this is our goal as a society, to prevent that collapse, then all options must be considered: if education, suasion and assistance fail to deliver the necessary changes, regulation is necessary. If it is efficiently and fairly delivered regulation will help protect an irreplaceable natural asset like the Great Barrier Reef and the vast economic benefit it provides (more than the benefit of the agricultural industries which are harming it), it acutally can reduce the costs of farming and grazing as their pollution is actually lost production. For example about $70M worth of fertiliser is lost each year, much of it impacting on the Great Barrier Reef.