Another Tsunami Thread

[aemills11]

I was really disheartened, if not angered, to see the responses to the tsunami thread that was recently posted. I had visited reef central to see what people were saying about the impact of the tsunami, the closed thread was the first one I saw, and I don’t think that I will look much further, on account of the bitter taste in my mouth.
Of course the impact of the tsunami has everything to do with responsible reef keeping. The loss of reef habitats and the devastation of fisheries may possibly result in further death due to famine or malnutrition in the areas that depend on the reefs for food. Responsible reef keeping will help ensure that the fisheries can rejuvenate, providing both food for local communities and revenue from ornamental fish trade, provided that harvesting is done in a sustainable manner.
Its true that the reefs have sustained numerous cataclysmic events in the past, but never one like this, coupled with the very modern pressures of over fishing, pollution, and climate change. Perhaps if the shorelines of Southeast Asia had been more thoughtfully developed, leaving intact the mangrove buffers and humans had been better stewards of the coral reefs, the human death toll would be greatly diminished. As it stands, thousands of acres of reef lie dusted in a layer of sediment that is likely loaded with fertilizers, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Who can possibly shrug this off as ‘just another wave’? The health of the global environment is tied to all of our lives. We need to look beyond the immediate need (not to say we should not help out those in need) and plan for the future.

[mvandepeer]

I agree with the responsible reef keeping and such and yes more steps to save lives could have been taken but...my view that was written is.. Mother nature will overcome and thrive.
I hope you don't let peoples Freedom Of Speech keep you from participating here at RCentral!!!!!
Welcome and hope to see you here again!

[Nuhtty]

Good post by the OP.

I, too, was upset that the post had to be closed (as I was the one who started the thread).

I felt it perfectly appropriate to talk about the health of the reef system and the impact the tsumani has.

I was in no way devaluing human life, as one person implied.

Look under my occupation. I think I have a unique appreciation and respect for human life...to the point most people will never see.

So, not too digress too far, again...the post I put here was to openly discuss the effect of a natural disaster on the ecology of the area. Not only is this an effect on the animals themselves, but there is also the issue of economic benefit and food source that reefs provide to the local peoples.

[firefish2020]

I agree it will affect the area and it will likely affect the hobby as a lot of livestock is from that area of the world. I don't think many will realize the reach of this terrible event for a few more months or years. Im sure there have been catastrophes before and reefs have bounced back but I don't think reefs in general have been this stressed in some time. Has anyone considered the impact on the hobby itself? I don't know but I imagine that there will be no more harvests from certain areas of the SA reef areas at least for a very long time. This is yet another reason that responsible reef keepers should begin to propagate their livestock one-day something may happen natural or legal that will cut off supply for good. The event was a terrible natural disaster with human tragedies but it is very important to address it's impact on the reefs and the hobby as it happened in an area that most of us serious reef keepers recognize as sort of "sacred ground" lots of our LR and corals originated there at one time or another. It is a tragedy that will affect us and it needs to be openly discussed in a serious thoughtful manner.

[johnpoole]

aemills.. well said.