Blunt words from marine scientists
about vacuuming coral from the ocean floor

Destruction of coral reefs ranks with clear-cutting the rain forests and the slaughter of whales. The following are samples of oceanic scientists’ opinion on marine coral harvesting.

	An Okinawa marine coral dredger at work. Herba Lab does not utilize this harvesting method.

Dr. Michael Dowgiallo, PhD

Coral Reef Program Coordinator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

“Clearing large areas of coral rubble would certainly impact reef ecosystems, not only because coral larvae settle on rubble (which is well-documented), but also because there are countless organisms that inhabit spaces within corals and rubble. Removing coral rubble from areas where the underlying sediment is unsuitable for larval settlement would certainly inhibit new corals from attaching and growing. I can't conceive that this practice would not negatively affect the long-term integrity of most coral reef ecosystems. There are other complexities, such as the removal of coral rubble that would change micro-flow patterns near the underlying substrate, in turn affecting the settling ability of coral larvae.”

John Clark Field, PhD

Candidate School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington

“I would have an extremely hard time believing anyone who suggests that this activity would be benign. Dead corals may act as a substrate for new colonizers, so vacuuming up even dead corals or coral fragments might hinder the ability of reefs to recover in the future. Even if dredging/vacuuming is occurring where there are no (or few) corals, there are certainly other organisms being directly affected, such as sea ships and anemones, many of which also provide structure to benthic habitats and thus provide essential ecosystem functions (such as hiding places for juvenile fish and substrate for various life stages of benthic invertebrates).”

Dr. Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla, PhD

Professor, Department of Biology, The University of Maryland

“This activity can harm the corals and the organisms that live in and on them in two ways. First, the dredging and vacuuming activity loosens and stirs up large amounts of sediment in the water. This sediment smothers and kills corals and other organisms in the ecosystem. An additional adverse effect of stirring up the sediment ... is that the turbidity of the water prevents light from reaching the corals, and the corals need light in order to survive and grow. Secondly, reefs are formed (and grow) by a process of bio-accretion (cementing together) of carbonate particles that have been removed from the living coral by bioerosion. If all the sediment that has accumulated around a reef (especially that which has already begun to solidify and hence does not risk smothering the reef) is scraped away, the reef loses its capability to grow and keep up with sea-level rise. Failure to grow and keep pace with sea-level rise would mean the demise of the reef because the corals need light and thus must be near the surface in order to live.”

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