What Is Killing Our Coral Reefs?

Coral reefs have been around for 535 million years, and have provided a habitat for marine life around the globe. The most popular reef that we all know is the Great Barrier Reef, in

Sydney Australia. The reef is relatively young at 500,000 years. Unfortunately, the impact of our

changing climate on coral reefs was manifested by global bleaching, which started to occur in

2015. This event has caused many reefs to die. A world without corals means not only will we

have a less diverse and less beautiful ocean, but it will also be an economic disaster for many

people. Reefs are nurseries for many fish species and attract millions of tourists every year. Coral

reefs offer natural coastal protection, especially in areas frequently impacted by hurricanes and

tropical storms. So, it is very important that we do anything we can to save our coral reefs. But

the ultimate question is: What is destroying our coral reefs? Going back to the topic of tourism,

that is actually a big factor in why the reefs are disappearing. Careless people who step on the

coral are not typically educated on the living creature. They will often try to break off a piece of

living coral as a souvenir to bring home, when there are dead pieces of coral lying around that

they could bring with them instead. Another obvious cause is climate change, which is due to the

release of greenhouse gases. Climate change causes coral bleaching, which if severe eventually

kills the coral. When a coral colony is under stress, algae is released, and white coral skeleton

becomes visible which results in coral bleaching. One cause that is rarely known is sunscreen.

The Chemicals in sunscreen can hurt the coral, and the decrease corals’ defenses against

bleaching. Coral reefs in Hawaii are exposed to over 6,000 tons each year. Water pollution is

also a great cause in the destruction of coral reefs. They are harmed from oil, fertilizer, and waste

from animals and humans being dumped into the ocean. These materials can change the

chemical makeup of the water and block sunlight from getting to the reefs, which is how they

thrive and eat. One last cause to the destruction is fishing practices. Cyanide fishing is the use of

sodium cyanide which is sprayed on fish in order to capture them. Those chemicals get sprayed

onto the coral reefs as well, which results in them to die. Bottom trawling is the act of dragging

heavy nets along the ocean floor, knocking over coral reefs along the way. It is evident that coral reefs need our help. A couple ways to help are reducing the use of plastic, or picking up any

plastic you may see on the beaches, use organic fertilizer to avoid chemicals running into the

ecosystem, and most importantly...reduce your carbon footprint!