Should coral fragging be banned?

[Wasabiroot]

I think it's important to highlight that the content of the article suggests this is specifically a theorized problem in the propagation of wild colonies and the potential downfall of genetic uniformity using fragging of mother colonies as a methodology. The argument does not seem to be regarding hobby fragging for purpose of selling to hobbyists or reef stores and seems directed more towards whether or not fragging is specifically the best method for restoring coral reefs.
Corals fragged from a mother colony are all genetic clones and thus carry the same genetic markers for susceptibility to disease and adaptability to bleaching. That's more what this author is trying to warn.


in before it becomes grossly misinterpreted as a "environmentalists want to ban the hobby".

Incidentally, captive sexual reproduction has been achieved in acropora through work of scientists so it's important to highlight nobody is saying there is no alternative..

 

[Karen00]

I voted "other". I think we've reached a point that wild corals are so seriously threatened by climate change, water pollution, disease, etc that fragging for the purpose of saving the ones that are on the edge of being wiped out is the only option left. Frag the healthy ones to cultivate in farms to hopefully transplant back into their environment if we can ever get our act together where oceans are habitable for corals again. I see this as being no different than trying to save a species like some African rhinos when there are only six left. Even if they manage to get the numbers back up there is absolutely no genetic diversity left in that particular species which probably makes them less than hardy going forward.

As far as fragging and immediately transplanting them into a reef I'm sure there is a lot of success but until the environmental challenges are solved I fear it's a bandaid solution but this too might be the only option left to us. I think the ideal would be to frag them and try to get sexual reproduction going in coral farms so we can keep their genetic diversity.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Bring back real size coral frags. Lol
D

 

[Tamale]

I don’t know why an article was even linked as 50% of the responses here show it wasn’t even read.

The article is not related to the aquarium hobby and is arguing (how well can be debated) that it shouldn’t be done in reef restoration projects. The author is not saying hobbyists shouldn’t frag their corals.

 

[Bsnow0053]

You can literally cut them in half and they will just keep growing like nothing happened... definitely meant to be Just doing natures dirty work

 

[Brucealmighty]

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind even suggest that this is a good idea when we are being more sustainable by fragging?, in other words not (missing word) and pillaging the oceans and reefs for as much as they can give us and in the least amount of time so we can get this whole extinction thing done and dusted

 

[Streetcred]

lol, wut?!
no…

as to the 2nd q…

there will come a day when aquaculture is the only means of survival for corals….
(and that day is coming soon.)

That day may be centuries in the future and the reefs have survived much worse (eg, Bikini Atoll and historic abrupt climate change), but what we do know is that the GBR is in great condition and that AIMS and GBRMPA need to update their latest health report. An expedition of scientist 'truthers' has as recently as last week inspected Stanley Reef claimed 90% bleached ... the truth was, of course, very different ... https://jennifermarohasy.com/jenns-blog/

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I'll start by saying NO, Of course not, negative, NO WAY and that's just my opinion but I thought it could make for an interesting topic. How did I even come up with this question? Well I ran into this articled called Coral Fragging Should Be Banned. My hot take is the author believes the process should be banned based on genetic implications and adaptation. Let's talk about it!

1. Should coral fragging be banned?

2. What are your thoughts on genetic implications and adaptation issues (as the author states) caused by coral fragging?

image via @therman

I'm assuming they are talking about reef restoration saying it passes on genetic flaws. But much of the reef restoration is done with corals that are survivors of bleaching events or know to do better than others. Meaning they are far superior genetically to most other corals. They author is misguided.

 

[mdb_talon]

I'm assuming they are talking about reef restoration saying it passes on genetic flaws. But much of the reef restoration is done with corals that are survivors of bleaching events or know to do better than others. Meaning they are far superior genetically to most other corals. They author is misguided.

Superior in that one specific way which is actually part of the authors point. If all of species "x" is fantastic at surviving that specific cause of a bleaching event then great for that specific scenario. However if the restoration led to scenarios where that strain of species "x" is all that exists on the reef how do you know it is going to survive the bleaching event of a different cause. Maybe it was another genetic strain that would have fared better.

In fact what this author is suggesting is more in line with current research i have read and things are changing more in the direction he suggests they do(more focus on sexual reproduction, more focus on diversity in restoration projects, much less focus on divers just randomly fragging and placing chunks all over, etc)

 

[mdb_talon]

in before it becomes grossly misinterpreted as a "environmentalists want to ban the hobby".

Lol way too late for that. Rhev did some clickbait and 90% are going all in without reading what the article is about.

 

[Sean Clark]

Click bait... yet here I am... well played.

 

[MiniGbr]

That day may be centuries in the future and the reefs have survived much worse (eg, Bikini Atoll and historic abrupt climate change), but what we do know is that the GBR is in great condition and that AIMS and GBRMPA need to update their latest health report. An expedition of scientist 'truthers' has as recently as last week inspected Stanley Reef claimed 90% bleached ... the truth was, of course, very different ... https://jennifermarohasy.com/jenns-blog/

Hahaha. Wow. This is miss information if I’ve ever seen any. Having been diving on that reef and actually studied it while I was in Uni at James Cook, you have no idea what you’re talking about. That reef isn’t bleached like the large bleaching events that I’ve seen with my own eyes. And while the coral referenced in that article you posted is somewhat different color from one month to another, (a natural occurrence), that reef is healthy, which is obvious if you look around the area of the supposed “bleached” coral.

There are huge swaths of the Great Barrier Reef having huge bleaching events. Again, I’ve seen that with my own eyes, underwater, not in a plane. They don’t just come back in a month or two. They take decades to come back, if at all in todays climate. There’s plenty of articles and research on that. That “truther” you reference is misleading people. For what reason, who knows. To deny that the ocean is not getting warmer, and that ocean acidification isn’t happening, is living in a lie. I can tell you from diving those reefs, to the work I’ve done in oyster farming, ocean temp rise and acidification are happening, and they are very much affecting how reefs rebuild and how animals (like oysters) grow and survive. And it’s happening quicker than ever before in the history of our oceans.

(to be honest I probably shouldn’t be engaging. This is like arguing on Facebook. Everyone wants to believe their own ‘truth’ and data and life experience doesn’t matter. But that post is too much).

 

[Tamale]

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind even suggest that this is a good idea when we are being more sustainable by fragging?, in other words not (missing word) and pillaging the oceans and reefs for as much as they can give us and in the least amount of time so we can get this whole extinction thing done and dusted

Please take a look at the article. The author is not talking about the hobby. It’s all about Reef restoration projects and the possible genetic diversity issues.

 

[DE FISH]

No,no and no so if I frag my montipora that should be banned no way

 

[Brucealmighty]

Please take a look at the article. The author is not talking about the hobby. It’s all about Reef restoration projects and the possible genetic diversity issues.

My bad

 

[MnFish1]

1. Should coral fragging be banned?

If you read the logic in this article (that was quoted) - yes. This is not about hobbyists fragging corals - it's about fragging corals and putting them in the wild.

2. What are your thoughts on genetic implications and adaptation issues (as the author states) caused by coral fragging?

He is absolutely correct - if you are talking about taking coral from tanks - and placing them into the wild. If you are talking about taking a wild coral, fragging it, and 'planting' the frags in the neighboring region - I would disagree.

It's kind of unclear the purpose of the question you're asking

 

[MnFish1]

PS - when a storm busts up a huge colony of coral - that's going to result in 'fragging'. But - still the authors perspective makes complete sense to me.

 

[MnFish1]

Since mankind seems to be determined to be the master of his own demise with pollution. I believe that the reefers that are growing and fragging corals may be the only source of some species of coral that are now near or at extinction.

So here is a question - IF man is going to ruin the ocean with pollution, etc etc etc - what good does it do to re-plant frags back into that area lol. This whole thread to me seems somewhat senseless - its apparent 90% of the people have not even read the article - To my reading the author does not care about people fragging coral from their tanks - NOR coral farmers taking frags from the ocean.

 

[Tamale]

So here is a question - IF man is going to ruin the ocean with pollution, etc etc etc - what good does it do to re-plant frags back into that area lol. This whole thread to me seems somewhat senseless - its apparent 90% of the people have not even read the article - To my reading the author does not care about people fragging coral from their tanks - NOR coral farmers taking frags from the ocean.

I thought I was on Reddit for a second based on all the uninformed outrage lol

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

I'll start by saying NO, Of course not, negative, NO WAY and that's just my opinion but I thought it could make for an interesting topic. How did I even come up with this question? Well I ran into this articled called Coral Fragging Should Be Banned. My hot take is the author believes the process should be banned based on genetic implications and adaptation. Let's talk about it!

1. Should coral fragging be banned?

2. What are your thoughts on genetic implications and adaptation issues (as the author states) caused by coral fragging?

image via @therman

It's not April 1st, is it? But if this is a serious question, I wonder how they've managed to survive in the wild where they are constantly fragged by nature... SMH