Federal Government Must Protect Caribbean Coral Reefs
October 14, 2013, earthjustice.org | “A federal district court has ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the law by allowing fishing for depleted parrotfish and other algae-eating reef fish species without properly monitoring the fishery’s impacts on rare corals that depend on healthy fish populations. The decision came in response to an Endangered Species Act suit filed in January 2012 by Earthjustice on behalf of two conservation groups (CORALations and the Center for Biological Diversity), and Mary Adele Donnelly.”
GOOD NEWS! Beleaguered coral reefs in the Caribbean got a welcome boost yesterday when a federal court ruled that the government violated the law by allowing overfishing of parrotfish and other important fish species that are beneficial for coral reefs. http://ow.ly/pQf05
Why are parrotfish so important? These beautiful fish graze on algae that can smother and choke endangered coral in the Caribbean. Since coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots of the oceans, parrotfish and other algae-grazers are the front line defense when it comes to healthy coral reefs.
Click SHARE or LIKE if you agree that we need to safeguard our coral reefs! TELL US >> Have you been snorkeling in the Caribbeans or in other coral reefs? How important are these fish to the health of the reef?
(Photo by Waywuwei, Flickr Creative Commons)
Recent Comments