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Apr
21
2009
Switching fishing gear could help save reef ecosystems
Want to hit a fish when he’s down? A spear gun will do it. As corals bleach and thin due to warming and acidifying oceans, the fish that most depend on coral reef ecosystems are the same ones targeted by certain types of fishing gear, finds a study in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
The authors did the study because shutting down a fishery to protect a reef – as is often proposed – tends not to go over so well in local coastal communities that depend on fish resources. Instead, at 15 sites in Papua New Guinea and Kenya, the researchers investigated whether a ban on the specific fishing tactics that do the most harm might work.
They found that future coral deaths would hurt populations of about half of the fish caught at these sites. Further, a quarter of the catch would be important to the reef ecosystems’ recovery after a crash.
Spear guns and traps, it turns out, killed the highest proportion of these key reef-dependent species, while line fishing techniques left most unharmed.
Some practical advice they give for helping reefs cope with climate change: when closing up the fishery shop isn’t going to happen, restricting certain fishing gear might be a pretty good substitute. – Jessica Leber
Source: Cinner, J.E. et al. 2009. Gear-based fisheries management as a potential adaptive response to climate change and coral mortality. Journal of Applied Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01648.x
Image © Banol2007, Dreamstime.com
Filed Under Biodiversity, Climate change, Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Habitat, Marine, Restoration, Socio-political issues, Tools and technology |
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