Article
Biology
James P. W. Robinson, Emily S. Darling, Eva Maire, Mark Hamilton, Christina C. Hicks, Stacy D. Jupiter, M. Aaron MacNeil, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Tim Mcclanahan, Yashika Nand, Nicholas A. J. Graham
Summary: Coral reef fisheries provide nutritious catch to tropical communities, but current management strategies focus on total reef fish biomass rather than individual growth and nutrient content, limiting the sustainability of nutritious catches.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Shreya Yadav, Abdulla Fisam, Rachel Dacks, Joshua S. Madin, Alexander Mawyer
Summary: People's preferences and choices around food directly influence their resource use and the resilience of natural systems. The study found that reef fishes are now a significant part of local diets in the Maldives, with changing preferences potentially impacting reef ecosystems. Seasonal spikes in local catch and consumption of reef fishes, as well as an informal sharing network, were documented in the study.
Article
Environmental Studies
T. R. McClanahan, M. K. Azali, J. K. Kosgei
Summary: The study evaluates the responses of small-scale coastal fisheries to pauses in effort and trade, finding significant differences in the responses between fishing grounds near marine reserves and those in gear-restricted areas. The results suggest that the success of stock recovery is higher in fisheries where compliance is achieved, near marine reserves, and with fewer additional environmental stresses.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tim Rice McClanahan, Maxwell Kodia Azali
Summary: Current coral reef future models rely on threshold (TM) and multivariate environmental variability models (VM), with VM based on General Additive Model showing more accurate predictions for coral cover by considering significant environmental and fisheries management variables and determining that common predictive variables are weak or not significant predictors of coral cover. By comparing the predictions of the two models for future coral cover, it was found that the VM is more accurate than the TM in predicting coral cover in 2050.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Mark Hamilton, James P. W. Robinson, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Shaun K. Wilson, M. Aaron MacNeil, Ameer Ebrahim, Nicholas A. J. Graham
Summary: Changes in fish assemblages after coral bleaching and mortality can affect fisheries, particularly fish productivity and turnover. In Seychelles, fish productivity increased on reefs recovering to coral-dominated habitats, especially in fished areas, while it remained stable on reefs that shifted to macroalgae-dominated regimes. The benthic recovery trajectory strongly influenced post-bleaching fish productivity, emphasizing the importance of herbivore and invertivore species in sustaining small-scale inshore fisheries following climate disturbances.
Article
Ecology
Paul G. Carvalho, Fakhrizal Setiawan, Karizma Fahlevy, Beginer Subhan, Hawis Madduppa, Guangyu Zhu, Austin T. Humphries
Summary: Research indicates that fishing pressure is the dominant driver of size spectra slopes in coral reef fishes, with carnivores being more heavily impacted as pressure increases. Additionally, habitat structural complexity plays a role in influencing the size spectra slopes of herbivorous fishes in coral reefs.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Tim R. McClanahan
Summary: The study in Kenya examined the long-term consequences of managing overfished fisheries through gear restrictions or closures. The research found that while both interventions showed positive responses in catch per unit effort (CPUE) trends, the changes were more sustained in the closure-adjacent landing sites compared to the gear-restricted sites. This highlights the potential benefits of closures in preventing suboptimal yields and fisheries collapse in nearshore East African reefs.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jonathan D. Cybulski, John M. Doherty, Carly LaRoche, Kelly Donovan Gutkowski, Zizhan Luo, Elizabeth J. Malloy, Laurel MacMillan, Laurie Raymundo, Kiho Kim
Summary: This study reports a new approach of coring inundated coastal karst formations to determine the historical context of coral reefs in Guam. Coral fragments dating back to 1729 CE reveal a period of relative stability for macrobenthos, but a decline in water clarity suggests an environmental decline in Guam starting from around 100 CE.
Article
Biology
H. B. Harrison, L. Drane, M. L. Berumen, B. J. Cresswell, R. D. Evans, G. F. Galbraith, M. Srinivasan, B. M. Taylor, D. H. Williamson, G. P. Jones
Summary: Temporal patterns in spawning and juvenile recruitment of coral reef fishes have significant impacts on population size and demographic structure. The study focuses on the commercially important coral grouper and reveals year-round spawning activity with variable peak spawning times and no clear association with environmental cues. The findings suggest the need for additional and longer seasonal closures or alternative fisheries management strategies to maximize recruitment contribution during periods of greatest reproductive success.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Patrick Smallhorn-West, Jan van der Ploeg, Delvene Boso, Meshach Sukulu, Janet Leamae, Mathew Isihanua, Martin Jasper, Janet Saeni-Oeta, Margaret Batalofo, Grace Orirana, Alick Konamalefo, Jill Houma, Hampus Eriksson
Summary: Coastal fisheries play a critical role in Pacific island food systems, supporting village economies and providing nutritious aquatic foods. This study used data from fishing trips in the Solomon Islands to create fisheries signatures for different communities and suggest suitable management recommendations. The results highlight the importance of considering local environmental characteristics for effective fisheries management.
Article
Fisheries
Jerald S. Ault, Steven G. Smith, Matthew W. Johnson, Laura Jay W. Grove, James A. Bohnsack, Gerard T. DiNardo, Caroline McLaughlin, Nelson M. Ehrhardt, Vanessa McDonough, Michael P. Seki, Steven L. Miller, Jiangang Luo, Jeremiah Blondeau, Michael P. Crosby, Glenn Simpson, Mark E. Monaco, Clayton G. Pollock, Michael W. Feeley, Alejandro Acosta
Summary: This study evaluated the exploitation impacts and management options for 15 coral reef fish species in the southern Florida USA coral reef ecosystem. The study found that several species had insufficient stock sustainability and suggested management strategies such as increasing minimum sizes and reducing fishing mortality. The importance of area-time protections and the limitations of data for evaluation were also highlighted.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
A. Nassiri, O. Thebaud, S. J. Holbrook, M. Lauer, A. Rassweiler, R. J. Schmitt, J. Claudet
Summary: This evaluation using the two-stage Rosen's model aims to deduce the implicit prices of coral-reef fish species commonly encountered in the road-side market in Moorea, French Polynesia during 2014-2015. The results show positive cross-species elasticities, indicating complementarity between reef species in bundles which enhances the value of catches. These findings demonstrate the importance of empirical economic analysis in understanding small-scale coral-reef fisheries in the Pacific.
Article
Oceanography
Dane Erlo Matorres, Michael Fabinyi, Kate Barclay, Peter Harrison
Summary: Most coral restoration work focuses on technical approaches, neglecting the social, economic, and political contexts. This study examines the interactions between major coastal economic sectors and coral restoration in the Philippines, highlighting the importance of these interactions for the governance and sustainability of restoration projects.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Felipe Carvalho, Leandro Castello, Beatrice Ferreira, Gavin McDonald, Michael Power
Summary: Our research explored how different fishing gears select for distinct functional traits of fish assemblages within different habitat types. Gears used in reef habitats showed high selectivity for sedentary and benthic species that form small schools, while gears used in coastal lagoons selected highly mobile, pelagic species that form large schools. There was low competitive interaction between gear types, with direct associations between gears and fish functional traits, highlighting the need for further research to understand global patterns of trait selectivity by gear type.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Yuanjie Li, Zuozhi Chen, Jun Zhang
Summary: Based on survey data of four major coral reefs in the South China Sea, this study reports the fish assemblage composition, dominant species, biodiversity indices, and community structure. The results show that the fish diversity varied among different reefs, with habitat complexity and anthropogenic disturbance being the main factors influencing fish composition.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)