It was the WWF Save the Reef Campaign that really developed my interest in environmental campaigns and through my public criticism of the same I have meet some wonderful characters.
Dr Walter Stark grew up in the Florida Keys and was awarded his PhD at the University of Miami the year after I was born – in 1964.
Walter now lives in Townsville and has a tremendous general knowledge of the world’s coral reefs.
Just today his review article titled ‘Threats to the Great Barrier Reef‘ was published by the IPA. It is an interesting read and includes information on everything from the population dynamics of crown-of-thorn starfish to global warming.
I found the fisheries information particularly interesting.
There exists 20 years of data on coral trout numbers estimated from surveys where divers count individual fish. Not a bad job.
Walter contends that arguing “that the GBR is overfished at an annual harvest of 17 kg/km2, when over a broad range of other Pacific reef areas an average of 7,700 kg/km2 is sustainable, is beyond ridiculous.”
If you have a query and post a comment below, Walter may post a reply.
If you don’t have time now to read the detailed review, On Line Opinion has published a shorter piece which is also a good read.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.