Hello, people of Whyville. I'm Oceans5. I'm an angelfish that lives on Whyville's South Reef. And let me tell you, things are getting a little rough around here.
Usually, the South Reef is a beautiful place to live. It's filled with an abundance of multicolored fish of various shapes and sizes, and on a good day you can even spot a dolphin, or perhaps an octopus hiding amongst the ornate coral formations. It has an even mixture of animals from all different species and trophic levels, and it's escaped the bleaching disasters that have hit the North Reef in the past. Nowadays, however, it's not doing so well.
The coral seems to be vanishing. Fish are disappearing from the reef. Large swathes of the reef are now little more than huge deserted patches of turf algae. The South Reef feels like a ghost town. And that's not the half of it.
Just the other day, I was scrounging around on the reef for food when I heard a roaring noise above me. I whirled around and saw a boat right on top of me. A net was cast down into the water. Luckily I was able to wriggle free, but the other fish in the water around me weren't so lucky. I talked to my friend Shelley the Sea Turtle about it, and she said a similar encounter with a boat. The boat's propeller struck her on the shell. There's still a big scratch on the shell where it happened.
Not to point fingers here, but I'm thinking you guys may be overfishing us a little.
Luckily, there's some good news. I've talked to some Whyvillians who are concerned about what is happening and want to help. They're making Save the Reef face parts, donating clams to the effort to save the reef, writing articles in the Whyville Times about saving the reef, and spreading the word about the need to - you guessed it - save the reef. I urge you to join your fellow citizens in this effort.
Thanks!
Oceans5
