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  NZ Herald 5 Apr 07
Threat to tropical reefs growing
More than half of the tropical coral reefs in the world where governments collect data on fishing levels are being degraded beyond repair, according to a global survey of reef fisheries.

The findings suggest that it would take an additional area of tropical coral nearly four times the size of the Great Barrier Reef - the biggest reef system in the world - to sustain current levels of fishing.

If the commercial exploitation of tropical corals continues at present rates, many reefs will be irreversibly degraded and millions of people will have to look for other sources of food, scientists say.

"Millions of people are dependent on coral reef fisheries. We are facing a global crisis among communities which have limited alternative livelihoods or major food sources," said Katie Newton of the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

"We're facing a food-security crisis - 30 million people on the planet depend entirely on coral reefs for their income and for the food," she said.

The study found that 55 per cent of the 49 island nations who register their fish catch are fishing unsustainably by taking more fish, molluscs and crustaceans than the reefs are able to replace.

The scientists estimated that the amount of fish being caught on tropical coral reefs is 64 per higher than can be reasonably sustained. This meant that it would require an added area of tropical coral amounting to 75,000 square kilometres - 3.7 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef - to make current fishing levels sustainable, the scientists said.

By 2050, the growth of the human population in tropical areas would triple the fishing pressures, yet coral reefs will continue to suffer from other threats, notably pollution and global warming, which are causing the "bleaching" of corals.

The study, published in the online journal Current Biology, suggests that the threat to the wellbeing of tropical corals will lead to many inhabited island atolls being abandoned this century.

It also warns the figures on overfishing may be underestimates because it is possible that fish catches being recorded are underreported.

Nick Dulvy of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Lowestoft, said the unchecked exploitation of coral fisheries could only lead to long-term social and economic hardship. - INDEPENDENT

CBC 21 Apr 07
Study finds fishing in island countries around the globe is unsustainable
KENYON WALLACE

OTTAWA (CP) - Most of the world's island countries overfish their coral reefs and many will likely see their sole source of protein disappear within a few decades, says a new report.

The study of 49 island countries - from the Philippines to the Bahamas - says catches are on average 64 per cent above sustainable levels, and in nine of those countries fisheries have already collapsed.

"As Canadians, we have access to lots of alternative sources of food and protein," says Isabelle Cote, a marine biologist at Simon Fraser University and co-author of the study, published this month in the journal Current Biology. "But for millions of people living on these islands, there are no alternatives to fisheries."

The study says an area four times the size of Australia's Great Barrier Reef would be needed to support current levels of fishing in these island countries and by 2050 would require an area 12 times that size.

Cote says more fisheries collapses are inevitable unless something can be done to reduce fishing, and to reduce the demand for fish.

International efforts to create alternative livelihood programs in developing nations won't work when fish are the only protein source. "If you take a fisherman out of his boat and give him a different job so he can make money, then he's still going to spend that money on buying fish," keeping up the pressure on stocks, she said.

The study also assumes coral reef health will remain at today's levels, which Cote says is unlikely.

"We know that reef health is getting worse. Reef health could decrease much more precipitously over the next few decades than it has in the past couple of decades."

One Canadian marine biologist points out that Canada also has a poor record on overfishing.

"Canada's East Coast is one of the worst regions in the world for overfishing," says Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University.

Worm notes that Canada's East Coast fisheries were sustainable for at least 500 years, and coral reef fisheries have been sustainable for at least 2,000 years.

So what happened? "Bottom trawling became widespread. It's such an effective way of scooping up fish but it has the nasty side effects of scooping up immature fish that haven't yet reproduced and also destroying habitat," he said. "It makes sense that things would go wrong."

Cote says it's hard to compare Canada's fisheries to the 49 island countries she studied. Whereas economic factors drive Canada's fisheries, sheer survival drives fishing in island communities.

"At the end of the day, it's not money we're talking about," says Cote. "People go out and fish so they can eat that day."
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