This feels like flamebait, but what the hell. I don't think you'll find many people concerned about harassment of marine life by photographers who also engage in (or endorse) spearfishing for sport, or believe catch-and-release gear fishing does no harm to the fish, or much enjoy shooting terrestrial animals for fun.
Flamebate, Yep, thats the goal. Get people talking/thinking. I don't care which side you take, I want a good discussion from all sides. Nice reply, thats what I wanted, though not all of your statements were scientifically accurate.
Will a slight touch of the hand kill an entire coral colony? I frankly don't know, but neither does acropora. Again, the true answer might not be simple. There are many coral species, some are probably more vulnerable than others, and it's also reasonable to think that particular corals already stressed by other environmental factors (predation, temperature change) or other divers might be more vulnerable. The theory that even a touch could seriously damage a coral colony is apparently based on the idea that removing or damaging the mucus coating on the surface of a coral colony even in a small area can create an entrypoint for infection and/or make the coral more vulnerability to predators. I don't know if this is really proven, but I'm fairly certain that it hasn't been disproven either.
Whether a slight touch can kill a coral or not, there's no doubt that clumsy fin kicks can do serious damage.
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Yes I can say that beyond a doubt the chance of killing a coral from a gentle touch is 0. It causes no stress. Anyone who has done extensive work with coral in captivity or in the ocean will agree with me on this point. I do know this because I spent 5 years culturing corals. Handling them on a daily basis and I still achieved growth rates greater than that in the ocean.
Now clearly there is a big difference between a gentle touch and bashing it with your fin. Bashing it with the fin will do damage that could take months or years to fully recover from though killing the colony is unlikely.
The touch it/kill it lie was invented because if divers think they will kill it by touching it they are less likely to kick it. And when I am being a DM I spread the lie for just that purpose....
and some puffers subjected to this treatment end up inadvertently swallowing air at the surface which they cannot get rid of and die.
Also un-true. They can get rid of the air. They can spit it out with relative ease. It might take a little longer and make them somewhat susceptible to the barracuda, but give him 5 minutes and it will be on it's way. Did you know the swim bladder and stomach(which is what a puffer fills with water to inflate) are in-fact two parts of the same organ. Most fish swallow air to fill their swim bladder (at least the first time) and many continue to do so their entire life, they also push air from their swim-bladder back into their stomach and then spit it out. Air in the stomach is not close to a death sentence.
though I try to stick to tuna and other pelagics taken in fisheries where they are not believed to be under threat.
Tuna (especially the big ones) are near the top of the list of heavily over fished species. It has gotten so bad that the frequency of catching a big tuna is so small they now catch smaller ones and put them in cages until they grow up. And then have the nerve to call it aquaculture.
and acroporas argument which, if I understand hiim correctly, is that because some people fish, hunt, torture or kill fish and other wildlife for entertainment, and because not everyone condemns this, it's ok to do whatever you want. Or that because commercial fishermen kill snappers, harassing a puffer to induce it to blow up for a photo is also ok. It really isn't.
My point was primarily to spur conversation. But also divers harassing fish are not going to have a negative impact on the environment. If you want to save the coral reef, get people to quit eating fish, driving cars and get farmers to quit using fertilizer. You need to stop the big problems before you tackle the small ones.
Your boat has two holes in it. One the size of a watermelon, the other the size of a pinprick. Everyone is going after the pinprick because it is easier but in the long run fixing the pinprick wont stop the boat from sinking.