[Dearth]

This question pops up often and to be honest there is no easy answer has the hobby harmed the ocean yes it has but to what degree nobody can really answer the same goes for how much has the hobby helped the oceans and there is no question this hobby has helped the oceans but again to what degree is anyone's answer.

Now to step outside the box I am not what you would call an environmentalist I live and work in an industry that cuts down trees for a living to make people's lives easier however environmentalists and Eco-terrorists would have the populace believe we are destroying our forests and habitat for animals. Sadly most people go off half cocked and start spouting logging is evil, pulp and paper is evil and so on (surprising considering most of these people live in and use what we make from trees how eco friendly are they really). It would probably surprise many that forests across the world have actually increased in size including here in BC and there is more habitat available than 25 years ago however most environmentalists and Eco-terrorists don't want to hear that all they hear is what they want to hear.

So what is the point of my out of the box post everything above can be superimposed over the oceans including fishing and collection farming. 30 years ago everybody went crazy with pulling things out of the ocean it is after all a renewable resource then about 20 years ago it was realized that the oceans were changing with overfishing, massive destruction by drag netters and trawlers and collectors of species however it took time to get international regulations in place in the mean time oceans were dying now jump to the present previously killed coral fields and out fished areas are replenishing and while some areas are dying other areas are flourishing but you never about these in the news why is that.

So again how much has the hobby hurt the oceans probably less than we think how much has this hobby opened people's eyes to the ocean and its beauty a lot has it made an impact that is hard to say only time will tell with actual science and not because it makes a good story to thump chests over.