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Collaborative Painting by Nansi Bielanski Gallup and David C. Gallup
In the shelter of a placid lagoon, surrounded by the coral atoll of Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Island Chain sits one patch of coral, surrounded by kilometers of sandy bottom in every direction. This spot is an oasis in the relative calm of the lagoon. As you approach, you swim though dozens of Black-Tip Reef Sharks who calmly circle this one spot of reef, looking for an easy meal of a sick or injured fish.
Passing through the ring of sharks in the crystal blue water, Coral Gardens emerges from the endless blue. Closer still, and the clicking sounds of a healthy coral reef get louder, and colors become more vibrant. It is at this moment that you become profoundly aware of the importance of coral reefs to ocean ecosystems. The density of life increases by a thousand-fold, with fish, corals, mollusks, echinoderms, anemones, sponges, turtles, and a thousand more things we couldn’t name.
This is why the two of us are dedicating our careers to raising awareness of the importance of coral reef conservation, starting with a global museum tour of our coral reef paintings starting in 2024. If we act together, it’s not too late to make sure that these complex, stunningly beautiful ecosystems thrive for generations to come.
