There are many things to know about our oceans and coral reefs. According to the Chasing Corals Documentary, 16% of the world’s coral reefs were wiped out entirely within a year. By the year 2050, all the most coral reef sights will be lost if precautions are not taken.

When looking at how reefs are today and comparing them to the way they previously there has been a big change over time. When analyzing a healthy coral reef and comparing it to an unhealthy reef, the healthy reef is very bright colorful and unique while looking at the unhealthy reef is bland.

Coral reefs become a very dull color due to bleaching. Immoderate hot ocean temperatures and climate change can cause a bleached coral reef. This bleaching caused by climate change impacting coral reefs is the release of colorful algae due to the response of warmer temperature.

According to the “Chasing Corals” documentary, in order to bring down climate change, we as a society can reduce the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere and one way to reduce Co2 is by adding solar panels to the roof of homes.

The documentary also stated that because most coral reefs are around warm temperatures it is more likely to lead to diseases such as the black band disease, white band disease, white plague and white pox which leads to mass mortality of reef life. The black band disease happens when the coral develops a black band around the reef and overtime leaves behind the bare white skeleton of the coral.

On the other hand, the white band disease destroys the coral tissue. Bacteria around the coral reef cause the white plague disease and the white pox coral reef which are found when there are white patches on the coral. These white patches are a result of the loss of the coral tissue.

Today many of the coral reefs are starting to decline due to bottom trawling and snorkelers walking on delicate corals.

Bottom trawling endangers coral reefs and for those who do not know bottom trawling are nets dragged by the seafloor to catch fish. Because it is used to target fish that live on the seafloor with an extremely large net this severely damages marine life that lives on the seafloor such as fish shrimp and even the coral reefs because it has a possibility of getting caught on the trawl.

Because not many individuals know about coral reefs and the damage it can do to our marine life as well. Fullerton college needs to stand up and act as a whole campus.

Altogether, Fullerton College students can make an ocean awareness day and gather together to have an event in the quad dropping knowledge about our oceans to students. For those students who enjoy bottom trolling, teach them what it does down below to the marine life.

Fullerton College can have monthly clean-ups to show support for our local beaches. As a college, Fullerton has taken action and had students volunteer to help clean up the trash along Newport Beach.

Recently on Nov. 2, the FC’s Accounting Society attended a beach clean up down in Newport Beach.

Many of those students mentioned that they had a blast giving back to our beaches. If this continues, we as a campus can make a change!