(Water and boat engine sounds)
How exciting is the thought of diving some of the most pristine coral reefs in North America
at NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary?
This incredible underwater landscape off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana in the
Gulf of Mexico, has awe-inspiring hard coral coverage and an abundance of aquatic wildlife.
The Tennessee Aquarium and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary are working together in
an Aquarium-Sanctuary Partnership for America's Keystone Wildlife to protect these incredible
coral reefs of the Flower Garden Banks. As beautiful as they are, these reefs could
be in danger. To keep them safe, we're asking for help from the dive community.
Hello, I'm Mark Craven, Manager of Dive Operations and Dive Safety Officer at the Tennessee Aquarium,
and I want to take a few minutes to draw your attention to a problem that's ravaging the coral
populations of the southeastern United States. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease is killing
corals along the Florida coast and has spread into the Caribbean.
The cause of the disease is still under investigation,
but we know that it spreads rapidly. Since there's a possibility that dive
gear may carry this disease from reef to reef, we're asking divers to take extra precautions.
As divers who enjoy exploring reefs, we have an obligation to help prevent this horrific
disease from spreading to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Just like we wash our hands to prevent the spread of disease,
we can take a few extra minutes to disinfect our dive gear after visiting each dive site.
This should kill off any harmful bacteria that could spread Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease.
Here at the aquarium, after we dive an exhibit, we take time to disinfect our
dive gear before we enter another exhibit, to help keep our marine wildlife healthy.
You can do the same to help protect living reefs in the wild.
Before your first dive, and again after visiting a dive site,
safely and properly disinfect your dive gear by following these instructions from our partners at
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Otherwise, those harmful pathogens may be
transmitted between dive areas, further spreading this disease.
(Music)
As divers, you're drawn to the underwater world
and the pristine beauty of these coral ecosystems. Please help be a steward of these reefs.
Thanks for being part of the solution, and safe diving!
This video is the result of an Aquarium-Sanctuary Partnership for America's Keystone Wildlife,
supported by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries,
the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The Tennessee Aquarium works with Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
to protect the Gulf of Mexico's marine species.
Tennessee Aquarium is raising Flower Garden Banks fish species at the aquarium,
to perfect a methodology that may one day help restore reef populations. (Music)