Coral Reefs Face Extinction Within Century

(AP)  Coral reefs are dying, and scientists and governments around the world are contemplating what will happen if they disappear altogether.

The idea positively scares them.

Coral reefs are part of the foundation of the ocean food chain. Nearly half the fish the world eats make their homes around them. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide - by some estimates, 1 billion across Asia alone - depend on them for their food and their livelihoods.

If the reefs vanished, experts say, hunger, poverty and political instability could ensue.

"Whole nations will be threatened in terms of their existence," said Carl Gustaf Lundin of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Numerous studies predict coral reefs are headed for extinction worldwide, largely because of global warming, pollution and coastal development, but also because of damage from bottom-dragging fishing boats and the international trade in jewelry and souvenirs made of coral.

At least 19 percent of the world's coral reefs are already gone, including some 50 percent of those in the Caribbean. An additional 15 percent could be dead within 20 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Old Dominion University professor Kent Carpenter, director of a worldwide census of marine species (the Global Marine Species Assessment) , warned that if global warming continues unchecked, all corals could be extinct within 100 years.

"You could argue that a complete collapse of the marine ecosystem would be one of the consequences of losing corals," Carpenter said. "You're going to have a tremendous cascade effect for all life in the oceans."

Exotic and colorful, coral reefs aren't lifeless rocks; they are made up of living creatures that excrete a hard calcium carbonate exoskeleton. Once the animals die, the rocky structures erode, depriving fish of vital spawning and feeding grounds.

Experts say cutting back on carbon emissions to arrest rising sea temperatures and acidification of the water, declaring some reefs off limits to fishing and diving, and controlling coastal development and pollution could help reverse, or at least stall, the tide.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Florida, for instance, has the largest unbroken "no-take" zone in the continental U.S. - about 140 square miles off limits to fishing in and around Dry Tortugas National Park, a cluster of islands and reefs teeming with marine life about 70 miles off Key West.

(Left: Fish gather on a coral reef in the Dry Tortugas National Park int his 2008 file photo.)

Many fishermen oppose such restrictions. And other environmental measures have run into resistance at the state, local, national and international level. On Sunday, during a gathering of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) on Wild Fauna and Flora, restrictions proposed by the U.S. and Sweden on the trade of some coral species were rejected.

If reefs were to disappear, commonly consumed species of grouper and snapper could become just memories. Oysters, clams and other creatures that are vital to many people's diets would also suffer. And experts say commercial fisheries would fail miserably at meeting demand for seafood.

"Fish will become a luxury good," said Cassandra deYoung of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. "You already have a billion people who are facing hunger, and this is just going to aggravate the situation," she added. "We will not be able to maintain food security around the world."

The economic damage could be enormous. Ocean fisheries provide direct employment to at least 38 million people worldwide, with an additional 162 million people indirectly involved in the industry, according to the U.N.

(AP Photo/G. Marola)

Coral reefs draw scuba divers, snorkelers and other tourists to seaside resorts in Florida, Hawaii, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean and help maintain some of the world's finest sandy beaches by absorbing energy from waves. Without the reefs, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that cater to tourists could suffer financially.

(Left: Red and pink corals, or Corallium rubrum, are seen on the seabed of the Mediterranean. According to the marine conservation group SeaWeb, they are harvested and then turned into expensive jewelry in Italy, Taiwan and China.)

Many Caribbean countries get nearly half their gross national product from visitors seeking tropical underwater experiences.

People all over the world could pay the price if reefs were to disappear, since some types of coral and marine species that rely on reefs are being used by the pharmaceutical industry to develop possible cures for cancer, arthritis and viruses.

"A world without coral reefs is unimaginable," said Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist who heads NOAA. "Reefs are precious sources of food, medicine and livelihoods for hundreds of thousands around the world. They are also special places of renewal and recreation for thousands more. Their exotic beauty and diverse bounty are global treasures."
By Associated Press Writer Brian Skoloff; AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington

[troutfishyman]

by CBSisCommunist5 March 26, 2010 7:18 PM EDT
I am a scuba diver. LIBERALS always use "gobal warming" to scare us.



That explains a lot. A bad case of the bends destroyed your brain.

[Freedomforever88]

Species of plants and animals have come and gone even before the evil SUV and mankind.

[displeased]

Yes, but the rate of extinction is at least 1000 times greater than the natural rate of species extinction before the presence of humans. And that includes the mass extinctions that occurred from global catastrophes, which we have not experienced yet.

[dannyheim]

I've become the ultimate skeptic, but not about climate change itself. It's gonna happen for sure, 100%. But, nothing will happen in regards to prevention of this. Why? One, it's already too late, and two, there are too many people.

It's already too late because positive feedbacks are all ready in process, too much ice has melted and the overlap between prevention of climate change and present climate change acceleration it too great to reverse.

And there are too many people, and growing (just like GW). Too many people means there are too many conversions to make, especiallly in the developed world. In short, too much sacrifice by the individual. To stop climate change, we'd need to act TODAY, not 2020. And not 17% reduction of CO2 emissions, but 100%. But becasue feed backs have already started, I would guess that if we shut down the world's vast production machine right this minute, all of it, climate change would show it has already made up its mind and is not going to stop, the best we could do with a 100% shut down is maybe slow it a little for a few years.

Here's the deal. If we had one tenth the population or 600 million people, That would still be too many people to get on one side, with 6 billion people, it's impossible. Forget it, get ready to adapt, get out of the lab and into the bunker. That's my take.

[Void-Master]

Time to move on to Mars then.

[erasmus111]

by Void-Master March 28, 2010 7:06 AM EDT
Time to move on to Mars then.


There is no way that we should be allowed to leave this planet to destroy another.

[erasmus111]

by March 26, 2010 12:14 PM EDT
3 kids per family


3 is too many. People shouldn't have any more than 2 at the most.

[zebra8835]

All it takes to fix is proper conservation. Make some areas off limits for awhile and once the area is improved enough, fishing can commence again. Missouri stocked river otters that were all but extinct and now there are so many they've opened up the trapping season for them again. The principals that work for state conservation will work in the oceans as well. Some in oriental culture that want to sieve out every minnow and every living thing are going to have to adopt move conservative policies or endanger losing much of their food supply.

[j_mcdonald-2009]

Unfortunately, no. The increase in temperature and the decrease in pH due to global CO2 emissions is a double-whammy that coral probably cannot survive, no matter how much local protection you provide.

[rwsmith29456]

We have some major problems.

[Empire-George-]

by rwsmith29456 March 26, 2010 9:16 PM EDT
We have some major problems.
______

I agree, everytime there is a lull, the liberal media tosses together an environmental piece, with everything and everyone facing extinction.

[ludvig1-2009]

On our recent Hawaii tour, I believe it was on Oahu at a jewelry store in a shopping center with a statue of the champion Hawaiian Sumo wrestler (Okebono), we saw different kinds of coral where they told us the different colors were from different corals at different depths at which the coral grew. I think I learned that coral is not all the same and maybe not all coral will go extinct, although it would be a shame to lose any of the varieties.

[CBSisCommunist5]

I am a scuba diver. LIBERALS always use "gobal warming" to scare us.

Just think for a minute--warming occurs every year-WE CALL IT SUMMER. The we have a "cooling period" called WINTER.

I would look at chemical pollution and fishing/dragging and less fish in the Ocean as possible causes.

[scottyusa]

Here goes..."Numerous studies predict coral reefs are headed for extinction worldwide, largely because of global warming, pollution and coastal development, but also because of damage from bottom-dragging fishing boats and the international trade in jewelry and souvenirs made of coral."
Out of those four causes: Professor Kent Carpenter, director of a worldwide census of marine species (the Global Marine Species Assessment) , warned that if global warming continues unchecked, all corals could be extinct within 100 years.

Which 3 are practical to control? Another climate change zealot.

[bugwhips]

Yeah he's another of a long line going back thousands of years who when faced with things they don't understand blame man, Why because blaming the sun doesn't pay.

[j_mcdonald-2009]

Which 3 are "practical" to control? The minor three that have secondary effects. So if the "practical" (as you say) changes are insufficient to save the coral, what do you propose doing?

[Overruled1]

This is the beginning of the end for man, in one century, our planet will acidify back to its basic elements, and all man will die. Taking with him, many of the species of life that also took millions of years to evolve.
There will be no god to save him.
There will be no rescue from any deity.
There will only be devastation.
Man's foolishness, and obsessive need to dominate each other is the cause in the end, be it politically, militarily, economically, or religiously....there are your four horseman.......apocalypse is happening.....today and now.