#38 Angie Brathwaite: How Blue Alliance Manages Marine Protected Areas

What are you grieving at the moment when it comes to the ocean, Angie?

Honestly, most of what I'm feeling, it's not grief, really.

It's disappointment.

It's disillusionment.

And why it's not grief? Okay, so I focus primarily on coral reefs.

I'm interested in all marine ecosystems, but my primary focus is on coral reefs and these ancient animals that existed before humans.

And I do believe that in spite of all of this, stressors that we're throwing at them, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

You know, the physical damage to land-based sources of marine pollution, unsustainable fishing, and then, of course, global climate change, which can be made bad to us.

I do think that they're going to, you know, they're going to reorganize themselves, as they have done in the past.

they will change their form and function and they will continue to survive.

Humans are going to miss and lose the ecosystem services that were provided by this magnificent structure of corals.

So I think we're going to suffer.

So I don't have grief where the marine ecosystems are concerned, And honestly, I don't have the grief for humans either because I feel like we have done it to ourselves.

I'm disillusioned and disappointed because I also think that we have the knowledge and the technology to reverse the situation that we're in and that we're not doing it.

We're not doing it because of greed, because of short-sightedness.

I mean, agreed.

So I'm more disillusioned and disappointed than even Greek.

I'm not one of these scientists that is depressed about the situation.

Yeah.

So the global coral report that just came out gives you hope in a way.

Yeah, for sure.

It does.

And you know what? Every time I dive on a reef, not, no, that's a lie.

Not every time, but often when I dive on reefs, I get sparks of hope.

Even in Barbados where, I mean, I no longer work in Barbados, but when I was here working with the government, I remember they wanted to put in, expand the port and they were going to destroy some corals to do that.

What are you grieving at the moment when it comes to the ocean, Angie?

Honestly, most of what I'm feeling, it's not grief, really.

It's disappointment.

It's disillusionment.

And why it's not grief? Okay, so I focus primarily on coral reefs.

I'm interested in all marine ecosystems, but my primary focus is on coral reefs and these ancient animals that existed before humans.

And I do believe that in spite of all of this, stressors that we're throwing at them, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

You know, the physical damage to land-based sources of marine pollution, unsustainable fishing, and then, of course, global climate change, which can be made bad to us.

I do think that they're going to, you know, they're going to reorganize themselves, as they have done in the past.

they will change their form and function and they will continue to survive.

Humans are going to miss and lose the ecosystem services that were provided by this magnificent structure of corals.

So I think we're going to suffer.

So I don't have grief where the marine ecosystems are concerned, And honestly, I don't have the grief for humans either because I feel like we have done it to ourselves.

I'm disillusioned and disappointed because I also think that we have the knowledge and the technology to reverse the situation that we're in and that we're not doing it.

We're not doing it because of greed, because of short-sightedness.

I mean, agreed.

So I'm more disillusioned and disappointed than even Greek.

I'm not one of these scientists that is depressed about the situation.

Yeah.

So the global coral report that just came out gives you hope in a way.

Yeah, for sure.

It does.

And you know what? Every time I dive on a reef, not, no, that's a lie.

Not every time, but often when I dive on reefs, I get sparks of hope.

Even in Barbados where, I mean, I no longer work in Barbados, but when I was here working with the government, I remember they wanted to put in, expand the port and they were going to destroy some corals to do that.