“Everything That’s Bad, We Do in Tela"
January 25, 2023 11:36 PM Subscribe
Dan Exton, the head of research at Operation Wallacea, recalls standing on the beach in Tela with Antal for the first time and thinking there couldn’t possibly be a coral reef beneath the murky water. “I almost cancelled the dive,” he said. But as soon as he descended, Exton saw “mind-blowing coral. I’d never seen a reef like that. Everywhere you looked, something unusual was happening.” from The Mystery of the Healthy Coral Reef [Nautilus; ungated]
What an amazing find. No indication as to how it is being preserved given the pollution that runs into the water. So interesting!
posted by waving at 8:19 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by waving at 8:19 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
That’s amazing, especially considering how hammered so much of the corals in the region are. I wonder if lion fish are a problem. And why there aren’t more large fish—you’d think the abundance of small ones would draw them. In any case, that’s a blessing, since illegal fishing is such a problem elsewhere.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:14 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:14 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
Life, as they say, finds a way. At least it does in Tela!
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:44 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:44 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
Great FPP, chavenet, thanks so much. I think there may be a problem with the undated link, which did not work for me.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:27 AM on January 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 1:27 AM on January 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been to almost all of the Honduran Bay Islands but now I think I might need to plan a trip to Tela.
But just when the future seemed assured, a Chinese company proposed developing an iron mining operation along the Ulúa river. It had the potential to dump heavy metals toxic to marine life into the bay. “That was going to kill the reef, basically in a year,” Antal said.
Ultimately, the mining operation was halted, in part because of public testimony against it, but the threat showed just how little stood between the reef’s survival and economic forces.
...and soon.
posted by JaredSeth at 6:09 AM on January 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
But just when the future seemed assured, a Chinese company proposed developing an iron mining operation along the Ulúa river. It had the potential to dump heavy metals toxic to marine life into the bay. “That was going to kill the reef, basically in a year,” Antal said.
Ultimately, the mining operation was halted, in part because of public testimony against it, but the threat showed just how little stood between the reef’s survival and economic forces.
...and soon.
posted by JaredSeth at 6:09 AM on January 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by endoftheparty at 1:28 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]