Dear People, Stop Carving Words Into Corals

by | Dec 11, 2018 | Corals | 0 comments

https://www.facebook.com/vince.tenchavez/videos/10156896216086977/

I can’t believe that this needs to be said, but could you please not carve words into corals.
Can scleractinian graffiti just not be a thing?

Say you find yourself on a dive trip to Misool… how about you try extra, extra hard and just resist the urge to scratch the name of your present location into a beautiful colony of Porites.
I know, you’ll have to miss out on taking a sweet photo of a defaced coral colony.
Yeah, it would probably get so many likes on Insta (or whatever the kids use these days).

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/48056259_1986033894813901_8464713192692514816_o.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=2cb1682c849bf72a4881397e51a5451d&oe=5C63C91D

But, c’mon…
Just be respectful of the reef.
Consider what a privilege it is that we as a species have figured out how to dive below the water to see these amazing ecosystems.
It’s becoming increasingly hard to find healthy, flourishing coral reefs.
And in a few generations time, they may hardly exist at all.
So, Charlie, next time you find yourself in the Philippines, how about leaving the Diploastrea heliopora colony alone so that others who come along can enjoy it too?

Thanks.

[And thanks to Vince Tenchavez and Misool Eco Resort for documenting these acts of reef vandalism. Let’s hope this increases awareness.]

  • Joe is classically trained in the zoological arts and sciences, with a particular focus on the esoterica of invertebrate taxonomy and evolution. He’s written for several aquarium publications and for many years lorded over the marinelife at Chicago’s venerable Old Town Aquarium. He currently studies prairie insect ecology at the Field Museum of Natural History and fish phylogenetics at the University of Chicago.

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