Finally, we humans must decide what our role will be in the recovery from this disturbance. As discussed in the previous chapter, many routes have been proposed for the recovery, including the suggestion that recovery to the pre-mortality state may not be possible or desirable. It seems clear that the problem is not restricted to the plight of Diadema antillarum, but rather extends to the structure, renewability, and ecological stability of the reefs themselves. For this reason, some action must be taken, even if the action is merely a moratorium on other human activities that may further the damage to the reefs. If such restrictions of human activities are extensive enough, they may actually make it possible for many coral reef resources to recover partially without further manipulation. This could allow time for further scientific study before excessively drastic manipulations are carried out.

The possible courses of action given in the previous chapter seem to range from the unequivocally necessary to the expensively bold. It has been established that fishing restrictions of some kind will be a necessary part of any overall recovery strategy. Even if any other type of recovery project is attempted, the results could be nullified by overfishing if the fishing restrictions are not legislated and enforced. As mentioned in the previous chapter, a law banning all fishing in a certain area may be more effective and more easily enforced than a law restricting size or type of catch. This is true in part because even the conscientious fisherman who throws back the unauthorized catch may already have caused fatal injury to the animal (Bohnsack 1993).

While captive breeding of urchins and fishes may be financially impractical, it seems that some sort of facilitated growth on protected reefs may prove successful. If populations recover in certain protected areas, they may be able to spread that success by emigration (in fish) and by planktonic larval dispersal (in urchins). This seems to be the best compromise of economy and ecology, as it limits total cost to humans while fostering the recovery of reef organisms which have suffered the ill effects of past human actions. Furthermore, while it may not be possible (or even desirable) to prevent natural disasters such as the hurricanes that break up reef structures, a program of limiting harmful human activity can allow natural recovery mechanisms to work as they might have done without either negative or positive human interference.