How Can You Help?
You, too, can take action to protect and restore our coral reefs, as well as the fish, plants, and other animals that depend on them! Here are some ideas:
1. Dive responsibly. Avoid touching reefs or anchoring your boat on the reef. Contact with the reef will damage the delicate coral animals, and anchoring on the reef can kill corals. Use responsible swimming techniques to ensure that your fins never come in contact with the corals.
2. Wear reef-friendly sunscreen. Several common sunscreen ingredients, including oxybenzone, and octinoxate have been shown to be toxic to coral reefs. Sunscreens that use non-nano zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as their active ingredients have not been shown to contribute to coral bleaching. Better yet, try to wear dive skins that protect your body so that you rely less on harmful sunscreens while swimming in the water.
3. Eat sustainable seafood. Research where your seafood comes from and if it's caught sustainably. Seafoodwatch.org is a great resource to determine which species are caught sustainably in your local area.
4. Choose eco-friendly soap products, detergents, and lawn care. You may live thousands of miles from a coral reef, but the products you put on your lawn will eventually flow into the water system. Use green alternatives for fertilizer and pesticides that won’t harm coral reefs and marine life. Microbeads in hand soaps can run through sewer systems and get eaten by fish. The absorbed toxins can transfer up the marine food chain and cause harmful effects on human health.
5. Volunteer. If you live near the coast, volunteer in local beach or reef cleanups. If you don’t live near the coast, get involved in protecting your local watershed, or lakes.
6. Leave no trace. Don't leave unwanted fishing lines, nets, or single use plastics in the water or on the beach. Any kind of litter that pollutes the water column can harm marine wildlife including coral reefs, birds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish.
7. Conserve water. Use only the water you need. The less water you use, especially outdoors, the less runoff and wastewater will pollute our oceans.
8. Spread the word. Educate your family and friends about coral reefs and contact your local representatives to see what your state is doing to protect coral reefs.
9. Keep Learning. Watch the movie or read the book: The Secret Life of Corals, or check out the Netflix documentary Chasing Coral. Or, even better, experience the indescribable awe and beauty of these precious ecosystems up close! I would love to have you join me and other experts on a Road Scholar snorkeling program in Florida where we can explore this world together.
Learn more about Road Scholar’s sustainability efforts.
The Author
Heather Hamilton is a Certified Florida Master Naturalist at World Events, LLC and has been a Road Scholar Group Leader for nine years. She is a local expert in birding, snorkeling, and national park excursions in the Southwest and Southeast Florida.
SOURCES
(1) The Nature Conservancy
(2) Secore International
(3) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(4) Chesapeake Bay Foundation
(5) Environmental Working Group
(6) Coral Restoration Foundation
(7) Natural Resources Defense Council
(8) Coral Restoration Foundation
(9) National Marine Sanctuaries
(10) Florida Department of Environmental Protection
(11) National Ocean Service
(12) National Library of Medicine
(13) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration