> Coral reef overfishing sounds alarm
Coral reef overfishing sounds alarm
April 3, 2007
Island communities that depend on coral island fisheries could face a hungry future. A study of 49 island countries reveals that more than half (55 per cent) of the fisheries were being exploited unsustainably.
Findings from a collaboration between researchers at Simon Fraser University, the University of East Anglia (UK) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas, UK) are featured in the April 3 issue (cover story) of Current Biology.
Researchers say fish landings are currently 64 per cent higher than can be sustained. In order to support this level of exploitation an additional 75,000 square kilometers of coral reef would be needed — an area 3.7 times greater than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The figures will nearly triple by 2050, given current human population growth projections.
The team, including Isabelle Côté, professor of tropical marine ecology at SFU, surveyed landing catches over the past 50 years from islands across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
“Millions of people depend on coral reefs for their daily protein. Most live in developing countries, in communities which have no alternatives to fisheries,” says Côté.
Researchers say management methods to reduce dependence on reef fisheries are essential to prevent the collapse of these valuable ecosystems.
Côté adds that the team’s conclusions are a best-case scenario. “In trying to predict the extent of unsustainability in 2050 we assumed the productivity of coral reefs would remain the same. We know that this is unlikely to be true because productivity is linked to reef health, and reef health is declining everywhere.”
For the complete story see:
www.current-biology.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0960982207010639
Findings from a collaboration between researchers at Simon Fraser University, the University of East Anglia (UK) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas, UK) are featured in the April 3 issue (cover story) of Current Biology.
Researchers say fish landings are currently 64 per cent higher than can be sustained. In order to support this level of exploitation an additional 75,000 square kilometers of coral reef would be needed — an area 3.7 times greater than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The figures will nearly triple by 2050, given current human population growth projections.
The team, including Isabelle Côté, professor of tropical marine ecology at SFU, surveyed landing catches over the past 50 years from islands across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
“Millions of people depend on coral reefs for their daily protein. Most live in developing countries, in communities which have no alternatives to fisheries,” says Côté.
Researchers say management methods to reduce dependence on reef fisheries are essential to prevent the collapse of these valuable ecosystems.
Côté adds that the team’s conclusions are a best-case scenario. “In trying to predict the extent of unsustainability in 2050 we assumed the productivity of coral reefs would remain the same. We know that this is unlikely to be true because productivity is linked to reef health, and reef health is declining everywhere.”
For the complete story see:
www.current-biology.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0960982207010639