Today I entered at the pier , about one click west . This is where the reef ends or begins , other sporadic coral clusters dot along the coast as well . My intentions were to video while swimming home . I did that , capturing four segments , one being the oil spill that’s been there for three years now . The others show colorful reef and schools of fish but I was preoccupied by the massive jelly flow all around me . Concentrating on the jellies to avoid being stung while filming took most of my focus . The results were no turtles and little special shots along the way but we show great outcroppings of coral , sponge and fish .
Easy to see dead spots in some areas . Last year we taped length and girth of some coral types but after typhoons the reef changes so much it’s impossible to find the same coral .
Healthy coral grows faster than I read . Some Mesa and barrel coral have grown up to 8 cm over the year so a Mesa that is 3 meters across might take thirty years . My belief before measuring was 100 years for a 3 meter mesa , or 10 ft across . If we continue to clean and protect our nurseries there’s a great chance we can protect many species of fish as well as provide oxygen for our planet . It’s a step in the right direction , recreational and fun along the way . helping pick up plastic is a very important job on the beach , under the waves or off a sidewalk on your own street . No kidding , you’re all environmentalists . We’re not lost to the commercialization of plastic bags and bottles . We’re not doomed to offering a trashed world to the next generation . We can do this and should .
Somehow we’ve got to go out there on the gyre . Maybe next trip we can organize the sight seeing tour that should be done instead of believing other information given . I’ve heard about boats being stuck in plastic so thick you could walk on it , clogging propellers and reflecting sunlight from the white plastic that gathers within the still gyres . These areas are away from the currents , sit still and heat up but there’s more . The dead lives of sea creatures litter the gyres as well . This brings bugs , a stench that must reek of decaying flesh for miles and brings bottom feeders , scavengers to feast on whatever is entangled there .
The job of cleaning this kind of mass up must take an incredible kind of human . Someone that realizes the true outcome , cause and effect our world faces if it’s not addressed . My application of a barge with a paddlewheel collector , conveyor belts sending the plastic to huge compactors , making miles of blocks then tugboating it to a plant on land still seems to be the best idea so far . This work would take a crew gathering and sorting , Captain and devotion along with satellite tugs and land crew to use the captured plastics . If one barge set against the gyre the size of Texas it would take 50 to 100 years to make a dent . If 1000 barges worked together we could make a noticable chunk every year . The cost will be in the billions .
Is our world worth it ? Are our people worth saving along with the rest of the ocean life ? Much of the world survives off fishing and our oceans one way or the other . How urgent is this matter ? After all not many of us even think about it . We love to watch the sun set over the ocean , very calming but do we think about what floats just under that glistening sunset ? Are the other daily chores more important than what’s to come in just a short few years ? Call or write your representative please , just take a moment to let them know your concerns . Shout out to the world if you have more time , inform those that are out of this loop . No joke , no small matter . We’re dumping thousands of tons of plastic into our oceans every month . All around the world the trash industry is throwing , hiding the pollution they collect throughout cities straight into our oceans . My heart melts to think we have alternate options and don’t use them .
Our site is here for everyone to follow and learn from . Post what you know , discuss the applications at hand . Using our minds together we can find solutions , we can have the beautiful world we had just a few years ago .
