Im a reef builder

[Fat Man]

Pandora just because an area seems barren doesn't make any less of a desirable habitat nor one that isn't threatened. Many of the deserts in the United States and the world are being threatened. Species that exist in these habitats tend to be living closer to the edge with scarce resources and are perhaps more easily pushed over that edge. We can't judge the value of a habitat merely by the appearance of abundant life forms.

I'll agree with you that the scale of his project is small enough that probably no harm is being done. But if a substantial number of people decide to build their own reef the scale of the impacts change.

It took me several days to decide to post my comments because I didn't want it to sound like I was trashing stamen for what he is doing. That was no way my intention nor desire. Nor is it my desire for him to stop. I work in the field that is directly responsible for land (habitat) management. In the past, and the present, many things have been done for laudable reasons but with bad results. It's just that I think these things should be well though out and not done for personal reasons but to better the environment as a whole.

 

[Pandora]

I totally understand where you're coming from Fat Man, and didn't mean to say that just because an area "seems" barren that it really is so (that's why I used the word "probably"); I studied ecology in college and am keen to these kinds of issues, too. I was also more emphasizing the fact that the size of the project is small, and not likely to be reproduced by 100 of his neighbors (unlike when a popular scuba spot gets "found" and subsequently trashed by tourists).

 

[davidcalgary29]

Environmental merits aside, Staman's project will likely have a net positive benefit of provoking debate about the Bahamas' threatened marine environments amongst its citizens-- something that is sorely lacking in the country today. The Bahamas has little spirit to enforce what little legislation exists to protect its natural environments, and has green-lighted a number of extremely dubious developments (Atlantis is built on a sand bar!) in recent years. Any effort to build a reef offshore of Grand Bahama is likely to have little overall impact on the widespread degradation of its marine habitats caused by ongoing development in the hospitality industry (e.g. hotels and condos, and widespread dumping of garbage straight into the ocean by cruise ships).

 

[Fat Man]

Point well made davidcalgary29.

 

[BigBert96]

I dont think any harm is being done. On a scale this small, I dont think theres much danger to the habitat. However, anything larger could possibly act as a mini tide breaker and alter the natural flow of the current, which in the long may cause minor erosion problems. But I dont think thats an issue with his mini reef.

 

[staman]

I agree with davidcalgary completely when it comes to the Bahamas gonvernment and their pathetic attempts to preserve the reefs/wildlife. To be honest they sicken me. (And no I havent asked permission Adidakev). A little story...

Unexso (www.unexso.com) spent about 10 years (myself for 3) feeding the carribean reef shark. We brought their local population to over 500 it was estimated. The shark feed can be seen on realtv and i also have personal footage. Anyway, because of the realtv footage a bunch of texas shark fisherman asked permission to fish the waters. And what was the port authority's answer? "Oh sure" (As long as you bring those texans with their fat wallets)..One forth of july weekend our family of sharks was decimated to under 20. The local fisherman even hailed them for doing it.
And dont start about artificially increasing shark populations.. We kill 60+ million of them a year.

The thing you have to understand is that the bahamas is a bankrupt country. (especially after 3 hurricanes in 2 years). The funny thing is they would probably give me permission if I payed a fee for a "permit" Trust me no one would ever come out to actually investigate it much less send anyone qualified about marine ecology.