If we continue to live as carelessly as we have, what we will have is a planet filled to the brim with trash.
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Beneath the waves we ride as surfers, swim as beach goers, dive out of curiosity and fish to feed ourselves is a world unlike anything we’ve ever seen on land. Colors so vibrant, life forms that glow at night, cities of marine life filled with diverse communities of fish and crustaceans that cohabitate naturally a mere yards away from the coasts.
But they are at risk, with the constant change of climate causing, not only, unseasonal migration but disappearance of species altogether. Paired with the contamination that is spilled over from the land – the bleaching of coral that leads to beach erosion and subsequent disappearing of islands is a certain future for many is something that we should all be paying attention to.
For islands like Kiribati in the Pacific, it’s a reality they had to painfully endure. As their eroded beaches couldn’t stop the rising sea levels, a place where thousands of people called home exists no more. So why are we still ignoring the issue of climate change?
As an environmental reporter for a little more than seven years, I’ve seen the effects of man on the land. The obsession over monetary gain of pristine territory in places like Ecuador, to build new structures to sell or rent. The obscene demands of taking more than one needs from the ocean, to the ultimate violation of livelihood; the filling up of the ocean with trash. Creating islands of toxic waste that circle the waters with their contaminants that will eventually find its way into our bodies causing severe ailments like Cancer, infertility, and death.
While some might dispute that the area also known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is where marine debris and unpreventable plastics thrown off of ships during storms while out at sea gather. The truth is there is an incredible amount of unrecyclable plastic found in the area—an amount that doesn’t just come from ships.
“I’ve had several skin infections from surfing in contaminated waters without knowing it,” Ricardo Laureano said to The Good Men Project. “Back then I didn’t know what was happening, I kept on getting sick, it was only when I started shadowing a marine biologist that I understood what was happening to the waters was affecting my body,” he added.
But it’s not just swimming in contaminated waters; it’s also ingesting the food that we get from the oceans—food that feeds off the waste that we throw in it.
“Awareness has increased during the past few years, but there’s a lot more to be done,” said Laureano, who is the spokesperson and volunteer for the coral reef task force in the northern region of the Puerto Rico. And he’s right.
The past couple of decades there have been an increase of awareness of environmental conservation in Puerto Rico. Still, very little—compared to the amount of trash that is being produced—is being done to save the forested areas around the coasts, or to conserve inland structures like rivers, and lakes and mountains.
“Everything is connected,” Laureano stressed.
At the coast, everything spills out.
In 1995 the most dramatic evidence of climate change in our generation occurred as mass bleaching of coral reefs throughout the pacific caused unusual migration of sea creatures. It also caused a few hundred thousand marine lives to suddenly die, unable to migrate, or live in the unusual warmer waters. A few years later, in 1998, another mass bleaching occurred throughout the Western Atlantic rending even more corals a bone white color (hence the term “bleached”) and causing yet another unusual migration pattern, and several hundreds of thousands more creatures to die.
While most of the corals were determined to be dead due to severe weakness caused by the stress of their affected environment, some were able to be saved. It was with relentless effort and dedication, Laureano and the Group of Vegabajeños Promoting a Sustainable Environmental Development (or Grupo V.I.D.A.S in Spanish) have been able to grow—by way of farming and replanting the corals that were believed to have died a little over 16 years ago.
“People don’t understand the importance of coral reefs,” said Laureano. “They contribute to the economies, to fisheries, and of course to surfing, without these structures we won’t have waves – we won’t have the protective barrier in our coasts, and what does that cause? Coastal erosion.”
In 1998, Puerto Rico saw almost all of its native corals disappear. Native to the Atlantic and home to a variety of of sea turtles, such as the leather back turtle, green turtle the Elkhorn Coral, or Acropora Palmata contributes to erosion prevention and thriving fisheries on the island. They’re also a key component to the growing surfing community on the island, which is why Grupo V.I.D.A.S decided to farm them.
With all the information I had about the health of local reefs, there was one thing I couldn’t stop wondering: how does one farm corals? I couldn’t stop wondering since I heard of the project. Simplifying the process, Laureano told me that by taking weakened corals from a contaminated area and replanting it in a once endangered and now healthy patch of ocean ground is how coral farming occurs. Better yet, he offered to take me to see one of these farms in El Eco in Vega Baja Puerto Rico, so I could see the younger-yet-to-attach corals when he went for a regular monitor visit to the area, as well as some amazing Elkhorn patches that have grown over the years.
Beneath the heavy current, and two feet over head, was 10 years of work of volunteers on full display. The vibrant life of these reefs was contagious, I had to hold my snorkel tube to remind myself that I was under water and not scream out of excitement. The beauty was indescribable, undeniable. However, unbeknownst to many, at risk of disappearing altogether as untreated sedimentation, construction debris, and other foreign contaminants were being poured in to the ocean from neighboring beaches.
“One morning I woke up and looked at the beach and saw a long line of something black on the sand,” said Musín, a local fisherman who has been in the business for about 60 years. “When I walked down to check it out, I saw that it was all sea urchins, from young urchins to babies, they were all out on the shore escaping what was happening in the water.” He said the incident was hidden from the public by the local government. “I didn’t see fish for the next few years.”
Now, although it’s a different story as Grupo V.I.D.A.S continues to work tirelessly to restore the corals, man is threatening it once again. With a recent large construction project halted on a local beach, it’s clear that there is a dire need for education and awareness on how we’re affecting the planet.
After completing Forever Boogies, I knew that I had to focus on corals. It is time to show what’s happening beneath the ocean. It is our responsibility to take care of our planet, because there isn’t an Elysium, or an Axiom where we can escape to space on. No. If we continue to live as carelessly as we have, what we will have is a planet filled to the brim with trash. My project Save the Coral Reefs will start with Puerto Rico’s ocean structure. As the years go by, and efforts are made for conservation I will follow up with the island, as well as taking a look at other areas around the world. Expanding global awareness towards marine health—but by that time I hope that I don’t have to reach to the public for funding to educate or make it aware. Instead I’ll just be able to educate the public through film—but to get there, I need your help.
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