Southern New England Tourism Effects

Tourism has a large impact on the reef system at Lady Musgrave Island with the millions of people who have and will visit the island at one point in their life. These results did not give an accurate picture as there were many other parts of the reef that weren’t included in these results. Due to this, there could have been more coral impacts or more animals surrounding the reef in other areas that were not included in these results collected. Therefore, the reef ecosystem creates many positive effects for humans and animals alike. However, it can be ruined easily with a simple touch or by leaving waste behind that could damage the reef or hurt the animals living in that

Tourism in Australia has evolved over the years and continues to increase to this day, however it is the effects that tourists have the ability to place on the Southern Great Barrier Reef which are potentially threatening for, not only the reef of lady Elliot Island, however, the corals surrounding it. “International visitations within Australia alone reached 3.9 million visitors within the first 7 months of 2014, which was an increase of approximately 9.5%, a number which continues to rise” (Tourism Australia, 2015). However, with this increasing number, comes possible damaging effects to the surrounding reefs of Lady Elliot Island, possibly leading to the excessive damage of corals due to activities and infrastructure requirements

Coral reefs are greatly hurt by tourism. When tourism first began, people had little regard for the delicate balance in the reefs. They would often break off parts of the coral to keep as souvenirs, damaging the area and hurting both the corals and the fish or other animals that relied on it. While humans today are more aware of the damage they cause, regular visitations can still create great damage by snorkelers or divers accidentally hitting and damaging the reefs.

Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.

Conservationists around the world are putting their best foot forward in an attempt to save the coral reefs. Coral reefs today are at a high risk of damage because of all the attention drawn to them by tourists. There are some islands that make all their money through tourism and exploiting the coral reefs, giving snorkel and scuba diving trips to guests that have traveled from around the world. Many people travel to these places with amazing under water worlds and they come extremely uneducated about these beautiful masterpieces. Tourists will drop their anchors on top of corals and drive their boats over corals, causing severe damage that will take the coral years and years to replenish. There are always new ways to enhance the lives of the

Activities held in the Reef itself, such reef walking or diving and even snorkelling can cause damage to the inhabitants and structure of the reef. As people walk along the designated paths they often stray away from them or even if they continue on the path there is a chance they could accidentally tread on some coral or even an animal (e.g., fish). In snorkelling and diving, the same risks stand, however, there can be additional ones such as people purposely breaking off the coral as a souvenir and potentially destroying something that took hundreds of years to create. And due to the increasing tourism percentage, the number of healthy corals is falling.

Overfishing, tourism, abnormal fishing methods, pollution are the main causes of human origin that is responsible for the reefs deterioration. For example, the dumping of industrial wastes and waste oil dumping is causing massive harm to the coral reefs, which need fresh water for its

One of the main ways that human’s impact coral reefs that could be avoid is coastal development that produces unsustainable tourism. Today, people are constantly looking for tropical places to vacation and adventure on these tropical islands. Since coral reefs can only be supported in tropical waters, they tend to be located by nice beaches on popular islands. The Caribbean is one of the best examples of this. Countries such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are generally poor countries with little development. Over the past years, these islands with tropical waters and coral reefs have began to build more and more resorts

Reefs protect shorelines from currents, waves, and storms, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage, and erosion. Up to 90 percent of the energy from wind-generated waves is absorbed by reefs, in fact, coastlines protected by reefs are more stable, in terms of erosion, than those without. Reefs are also a natural source of sand in beach replenishment. Losing the natural reef barrier would have a large physical and economic impact on coastal communities as well as the millions of people who live in coastal areas near coral reefs. The health of sensitive coral reef ecosystems depends partly on sustainable coastal development along the coastlines the reefs protect. A study conducted in 1999 suggests that a 1% loss in coastal ecosystems leads to 1% loss of the value of the

Broken and abraded coral has been clearly injured and or killed. However this abraded coral is less resistant to diseases and will have slower reproduction and growth due to redirected energy.24 Originally studies focused on coral breakages, however more recent studies have found that just the re-suspension of sediment can affect the health of reef. The removal of sediment from the coral surface results in the redirection of energy and makes the coral more vulnerable to disease.33 The study of this is more difficult and less reliable as weather has a huge impact on sediment suspension. Observations by Barker and Roberts accounted for sediment re-suspension, but the extent of damage caused to the coral was not

Despite coral reefs covering less than .2% of the ocean’s area, they support 25% of the marine fish species. The reefs also provide 25% of the fish caught in developing countries as well as employ millions of fishermen to get the job done (Reaser 1502). Although coral reefs may not support everyone directly, they support surrounding countries. In the Maldives, tourism revenues amount for 45% of their gross national product. In the Caribbean, $89 billion was raised in 1990. Florida’s reefs bring in $1.6 billion every year (Reaser 1502). The Great Barrier Reef in Australia brings in $1.5 billion annually (Munday 263). Unfortunately, the coral reef tourist industry will lose money where coral reefs are affected. Coral reefs protect ocean shores as well as reduce storm damage, erosion, and flooding due to intense waves. Over time, reefs have formed lagoons and calm shore lines that provide a habitat for numerous species (Reaser 1502). Because of the strong dependence on coral reefs by humans and nonhumans, awareness of their danger should be raised! Shoreline erosion will increase because corals won’t be strong enough to withstand intense waves due to lack of skeletal growth. Our shorelines will be dirtier and less safe without reefs to protect humans and nonhumans from intense waves which may cause destruction (Reaser 1502).

Coral reefs provide important habitats that numerous marine animals rely on for survival. These habitats are constantly under pressure and threatened indirectly or directly by human activities. So many of the world’s corals have been killed or severely damaged by numerous factors such as increased CO2 emissions, global climate change, agricultural runoff, overfishing, and improper tourist activities. However, if we change our habits now, we can prevent further coral loss and protect what we have

Human activities along the coastal region have some to a negative effect on the living coral reefs. As indicated in the above

The deterioration of coral reefs is mainly linked to human activities – 88% of coral reefs are threatened through various reasons as

Although it is impossible to manage the safety of coral reefs everywhere, the cleaner the ecosystem around the reefs are, the healthier and less endangered the reefs. With the help and effort from people and organizations worldwide, coral reefs can be kept clean and safe. If no one steps up and cares for the balance and biodiversity of the world's waters, then all