undertaken to do with this legislation. I assure you that the international aspect of it-because that is equally important-will receive prompt consideration in the Committee on Foreign Affairs when your two subcommittees are concluded. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Fascell follows:] STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DANTE B. FASCELL AT THE ON INCREASING CORAL REEF RESEARCH PROGRAMS Mr. Chairmen, I want to take a moment to welcome you to the Florida Keys. I am confident that, before you leave, you will better understand and appreciate the beauty and sensitivity of our coral reef ecosystem. As with many of our ocean resources, we are only beginning to comprehend the full value of our nation's coral reefs. Therefore, I am pleased by the interest in this issue which my colleagues is the House of Representatives have demonstrated. Those of us who have been observing the Keys for many years can tell you that its resources are in decline. Studies on fisheries have indicated this and studies of the reefs themselves are beginning to document the extent of the problem as well. However, there are strong differences of opinion as to exactly what is responsible for the changes we have witnessed. Let us start with what we know: coral reef ecosystems around the world are stressed and appear to be suffering from many common threats. Often cited is the over development in coastal areas, point and non-point pollution, nutrient loading from a variety of sources, global warming, and rising sea levels. What we do not know, however, is to what degree these problems are contributing to the decline in the vitality of the reefs. -2 Even though there is a comprehensive resource management strategy being developed for the reefs in the Keys, I am not sure that, at this time, we have all the data needed to make every decision. I do not say this to be critical of those who have conducted and produced quality research, for it is their work that has given us our current understanding of the problems. However, the nature of their efforts has not been as much of a comprehensive and coordinated program, as it has been a piecemeal approach. To continue down this path will not allow us to pursue long-term strategies to protect and preserve our coral reefs for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations. For these reasons, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this hearing and I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished witnesses. 非非 Mr. SCHEUER. Thank you very much, Chairman Fascell. Before I invite the first panel to come up, I want to say a word about Congressman Hertel. Due to the vicissitudes of reapportionment and other matters, he will not be running for reelection in the fall. So this will be the last of six terms that he has served. I want to pay him a tribute, very deeply felt, a sincere tribute that in just twelve years he has assumed a position of enormous respect and influence in the Congress on all aspects of the environment. He is a learned voice, a very dedicated voice. He has played a major role and exercised phenomenal leadership in moving the Congress ahead on a wide variety of environmental matters, and he will be very much missed. It is a great shame that the vicissitudes and hurly-burly aspect of reapportionment sometimes results in exceedingly productive and valuable Members being left behind and opting not to run in very complicated situations. So I want to pay a very real tribute to Dennis Hertel for his really extraordinarily useful and productive constructive career. Mr. HERTEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. SCHEUER. Thank you, Dennis. I will call the first panel, Dr. Deborah Santavy, Mr. Harold Hudson, Mr. R. Tucker Scully, and Mr. Walter Jaap. Dr. Santavy is a research microbiologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She works in the Gulf Breeze Laboratory in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Mr. Harold Hudson is Regional biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, centered in Key Largo, Florida. Dr. R. Tucker Scully is Director of the Office of Oceans of the U.S. Department of State in Washington, and Mr. Walter Jaap is Associate Research Scientist in the Florida Marine Research Institute, Florida Department of Natural Resources in St. Petersburg, Florida. We are going to ask each of you to restrict yourselves to approximately five minutes and give us the gist of your testimony. Your prepared testimony will be printed in full at this point in the record. After you have testified for five or six minutes, I am sure we will all have questions for you. Let me say this is a very informal process and don't be awed by Congressional hearings, just think of us all being together in a living room, you kick your shoes off and we are exchanging views. It should be a very pleasant and productive experience for all of us. We up here intend to learn as much as we possibly can from you. So keep it very informal, and I am sure we will have a wonderful exchange. With that having been said, Dr. Santavy, when you feel ready and comfortable, please give us your views. Dr. SANTAVY. Are these mikes working? Mr. SCHEUER. I don't think so. Dr. SANTAVY. I will try to speak loudly. Mr. SCHEUER. It is a very bad system. It is particularly awkward because you are facing away from the audience. Any of you in the audience sitting in the back who want to come to the front rows and have a better chance of hearing, you might want to do so. Don't strain your voice, speak in a conversational way that will be comfortable for you and give us your views. STATEMENTS OF DR. DEBORAH SANTAVY, RESEARCH MICROBIOLOGIST, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, GULF BREEZE LABORATORY, GULF BREEZE, FL; DR. JAMES HAROLD HUDSON, REGIONAL BIOLOGIST, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, KEY LARGO, FL; R. TUCKER SCULLY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF OCEANS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, DC; WALTER C. JAAP, ASSOCIATE RESEARCH SCIENTIST, FLORIDA MARINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ST. PETERSBURG, FL Dr. SANTAVY. Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee, I thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. The changing profiles of coral reef communities are evidence of the global decline in the quality of the world's oceans. Strong concerns are being voiced through symposia and workshops which report that the quality of coral reef environments is declining at unprecedented rates. However, at present, the data needed to confirm, quantify, and explain this trend on a scientific basis are lacking. Coral reef ecosystems, and neighboring mangrove and seagrass environments, are ecologically important and their loss or decline could result in irreversible changes that may permanently alter coastal oceanic processes. Coral reef communities are comprised of hard and soft corals, and populations of diverse assemblages of invertebrates, fish, algae, and benthic organisms. All of these organisms are necessary to maintain the ecological balance of the reef, and the disruption of certain components could permanently alter the entire ecosystem and result in eventual loss of the reef. Over the last decade, the coverage of hard corals in reef environments has been declining. Alarming increases in the incidence of coral diseases, physiological disorders, necroses, bleaching, and tumors has been recorded. These disorders have also be observed in other species of organisms on coral reefs. Declines in overall coral coverage, reduction in new recruitment, decline in reproductive capability, increases in incidence of diseased individuals, and decline in coral reef community populations have been documented in numerous geographic locations. Effects of global climate change and increased anthropogenic stresses induced by increased development in coastal regions are difficult to distinguish and often compounded. While there exists a great deal of knowledge regarding descriptive ecology for coral reef ecosystems, little data exists for interpreting natural disease processes and climatic and anthropogenicinduced stresses. The identification of potential causes and effects of habitat loss and species decline Mr. SCHEUER. Dr. Santavy, just a moment. Dennis Hertel had a very good idea. When the folks testify, come up here so you are facing the audience; would you like to do that? We can hear better and the audience can hear something. Dr. SANTAVY. Okay, I will come up and start from the beginning. |