Protecting England’s Very Own Coral Reefs
When we hear about coral reefs, we often think about huge ones like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. But England has coral reefs too, just as much in need of protection.
Built by the skeletons of tiny animals, coral reefs are a bit like ‘underwater rainforests’ and support a third of marine life on our planet (providing habitats for plants, fish and invertebrates). All are at risk from plastic/oil pollution and temperature shifts (due to climate change) that cause coral bleaching.
Canyons Marine Conservation Zone is just off Devon’s coast. It hosts cold-water corals, sponges, and unique marine life like seahorses. Cold water coral reefs are also found in Scotland.
Never buy ‘sea sponges’. These are living creatures, cut away by divers with knives.
Near Norfolk, the Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds (the longest chalk reef in the world) stretch along the coast. They support rare sponges, anemones, and small fish. Compared to tropical reefs, English sites grow more slowly.
It’s home to many plants and animals. The Parpal Dumplin’ was discovered in 2011. This rare purple sea sponge got its name after a recent competition, the winner being a 9-year old who used a Norfolk accent to name it because ‘the sponge is purple and it looks like a dumpling!’
How to Protect England’s Coral Reefs
Modern life is destroying coral reefs (over-fishing, careless boaters and oil/plastic pollution). So in a nutshell, live a simple sustainable life: Read our posts on:
- Organic gardening and organic farming
- Sustainable sailing
- Biodegradable beauty
- Biodegradable cleaning
- Biodegradable laundry
- Microplastic catchers (for laundry)
Switch to reef-safe sunscreens (many regular ones contain oxybenzone and octinoxate, which can harm coral even in tiny amounts). Some on sale in the UK are banned in Hawaii, as they pollute waters when washed down sinks.
Zinc oxide (also found in cosmetics and nail polish) is often used in natural sunscreens. This is toxic to pets, so wash off your skin, before letting animal friends kiss you!
How Climate Change is Harming Coral Reefs
Climate change is causing sea temperatures to rise, which lead to coral bleaching. And just like if someone bleached you, it then becomes weak, sick and dies.
Marine wildlife is washing up dead by the thousands. Coral bleaching is the canary in the coal mine for global warming. Yet at this time of historic climate breakdown, the government extends the biggest dirtiest fossil fuel project for another 50 years. It’s criminal. Senator Peter Whish-Whilson, Australian Greens
Paul Gamblin (head of the Australian Marine Conservation Society) says that his country’s coral reefs are now like ‘a raging underwater bushfire’. One tourist says ‘it was like snorkelling on a corpse, so grey and lifeless. You can sometimes hear fish munching on the coral – there was nothing’.
