Diving the Coral Reefs of Belize

Diving, flipping, open, carousing, barrel rolling, succulent open water dives. 2 of them. Tuffey and Victorian Canyons. The coral, spectacular. Life changing, breeding glorious vibrant life. It’s so important that we protect our coral reefs. Seeing them from underwater up close and personal gives new meaning to their beauty and importance. It’s a whole new world in the deep blue seas surrounding a Barrier Reef. Filled with life and vitality, in a constant state of flux, rhythmic and musical. Brutally surreal and present. A fish-eat-fish sort of world where one can never be too ambivalent nor caught off-guard.

As it stands, 75% of our Earth coral reefs are threatened “by agricultural runoff, shipping, overfishing, coastal development, pollution, climate change, warming seas and ocean acidification” as reported by the World Resources Institute, titled “Reefs at Risk.” The report is a follow-up to a 1998 report they did on the same global problem, but this time more detailed.

This article from Care2 shows where the Coral Reef Systems are located and asks the vital question of:

Why are coral reefs important? They provide the highest biodiversity for all marine ecosystems in the oceans. They also host 25 percent or more of all marine fish species. One estimate put the benefits coral reefs provide at 29 billion US dollars per year. They generate billions of dollars per year for tourism and recreation and are the foundation of life for many marine organisms. Reefs around the world have been dying off due to the various impacts caused by human activity. When they are gone, the biodiversity depending on them also goes. As one researcher said, it’s like when everything in the forest is gone except for little twigs.”