The economic principle I’m exploring is “institutions are the "rules of the game" that influence choices.”
My research question to help me study the economic principle is “What is the greatest danger to these reefs?”
The article published on the World Wildlife Foundation’s website titled “Coral Reefs: Threats” demonstrates this economic principle because it lists the various factors that contribute to the destruction of coral reefs around the world.
First, destructive fishing practices and overfishing play a large role in coral reef destruction. The destructive practices “include cyanide fishing, blast or dynamite fishing, bottom trawling, and muro-ami (banging on the reef with sticks).” Bottom trawling is one of the greatest dangers. It is the practice of dragging a fishing net across the sea floor. So one can see how this might be damaging to the environment around it. Overfishing is threatening as well because it “affects the ecological balance of coral reef communities, warping the food chain and causing effects far beyond the directly overfished population.”
Unsurprisingly, careless tourism is another great threat to these ecosystems. Mainly through activities such as “careless boating, diving, snorkeling, and fishing… people touching reefs, stirring up sediment, collecting coral, and dropping anchors on reefs.” That’s why there are many rules about being careful around the reefs and with the wildlife that can be found there. For example, a friend of mine recently traveled to the Cayman Islands, and there is a $5,000 fine for the removal of wildlife from the ocean.
Third, pollution remains one of the greatest threats to the ocean and its inhabitants. These pollutants include urban waste, industrial waste, sewage, chemicals, and oil. Many of “these toxins are dumped directly into the ocean or carried by river systems from sources upstream. Some pollutants, such as sewage and runoff from farming, increase the level of nitrogen in seawater, causing an overgrowth of algae, which 'smothers' reefs by cutting off their sunlight.”
In my next blog post I will research: What are local citizens doing to help?/What do local citizens think of this problem?
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