Fishing bans boost Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Yahoo News 22 Feb 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Strict fishing bans have helped regenerate wildlife and coral on one-third of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a new study shows, raising hopes that years of decline can be reversed.

The study, bringing together years of research by scientists on the world's biggest living organism, proves "no-take" zones set up in 2004 have had a significant benefit, its authors say.

"The results are actually quite impressive," said lead author Laurence McCook.

"Having a higher proportion of protected areas is good for marine life, it's good for fish and it's good for people who rely on the reef for a living."

The study, published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences, shows the zones have more and bigger fish, including sharks, and less damage to coral.

"That's a very important result not only for the reef, because corals build the reef, but it's also important for the tourism and fishing industries because fish rely on coral for their habitat," McCook said.

"We think it adds to the value of the reef and it's likely to be contributing to the long-term sustainability of fishing," added McCook, of the Australian Research Centre's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

However, McCook warned that the reef was also facing a significant danger from climate change, which bleaches the coral and impedes its growth by raising the water's temperature and acidity.

World-class protection boosts Australia's Great Barrier Reef
ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies EurekAlert 21 Feb 10;

Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is showing an extraordinary range of benefits from the network of protected marine reserves introduced there five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The scientific team, a 'who's-who' of Australian coral reef scientists, describe the findings as "a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves".

"Our data show rapid increases of fish inside no-take reserves, in both reef and non-reef habitats ," says Professor Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, speaking today at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences meeting in San Diego, California.

"Critically, the reserves also benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience", says lead author Dr Laurence McCook of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

"Outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish are less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have a higher abundance of healthy corals after outbreaks."

"In concert with other measures, the reserve network is also helping the plight of threatened species like dugongs and marine turtles", says Dr McCook.

"There is now very strong evidence that no-take zones benefit fish populations within those zones. The numbers of coral trout doubled on some reefs within two years of closure to fishing," reports Dr Hugh Sweatman, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Overall, the team concluded "With 32% of GBR reef area in no-take reefs, and fish densities about two times greater on those reefs, fish populations across the ecosystem have increased considerably." The researchers predict that as protected fish inside no-take areas grow larger and larger, they will contribute many more larvae to the whole ecosystem. Therefore, the benefits of no-take areas are expected to extend far beyond the no-take boundaries, replenishing surrounding areas that are open to fishing.

Larger, more mobile species, such as sharks, have benefited less than residential fishes, but nevertheless show clear effects of protection: grey reef sharks are much more abundant on highly protected reefs than on fished reefs.

However the team cautioned that there was evidence of some poaching in no-take zones, reinforcing the need for education and enforcement.

The researchers say that preliminary economic analysis points to considerable net benefits, both to the environment and to tourism, fishing and related enterprises.

"The Great Barrier Reef generates far more economic benefit to Australia than the cost of protecting it" they added.

"Given the major threat posed by climate change, the expanded network of marine reserves provides a critical and cost-effective contribution to enhancing the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef," the scientists comment.

"In summary, the network of marine reserves on the GBR has brought major, sustained ecological benefits, including for target fish and sharks.

"Overall, the results demonstrate that the large-scale network of marine reserves on the GBR is proving to be an excellent investment - in social, economic and environmental terms," they conclude.

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Their paper "Adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef: a globally significant demonstration of the benefits of a network of marine reserves" by Laurence J. McCook, Tony Ayling, Mike Cappo, J. Howard Choat, Richard D.Evans, Debora M. De Freitas, Michelle Heupel, Terry P. Hughes, Geoffrey P.Jones, Bruce Mapstone, Helene Marsh, Morena Mills, Fergus Molloy, C.Roland Pitcher, Robert L. Pressey, Garry R. Russ, Stephen Sutton, Hugh Sweatman, Renae Tobin, David R. Wachenfeld and David H. Williamson is in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The authors are affiliated with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and James Cook University.

Poachers raiding rich Barrier Reef zones
Peter Michael The Courier-Mail 24 Feb 10;

POACHERS are raiding "no-take zones" on the Great Barrier Reef as fish stocks more than double in protected areas, the latest research shows.

Fish, shark and dugong inside marine parks have shown rapid population growth since the introduction of strict zoning under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority five years ago, a study has found.

But scientists warn new evidence shows fish poachers have been "cherry-picking" highly lucrative species such as coral trout and red emperor by fishing inside the prohibited zones.

"It is the goose that lays the golden egg," said lead author Dr Laurence McCook.

"The resounding pattern overall is there are more and bigger fish in the protected areas than the fished areas," said Dr McCook, of GBRMPA and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

"Bigger fish have more babies. The increase spills over into the fished areas."

He said the number of coral trout had doubled in some reserves within two years of banning fishing. Numbers of other popular table fish such as red emperor and snapper were also up.

But fish poachers drawn by easy pickings have been plundering the no-take zones.

"People are out there cherry-picking the protected reefs," Dr McCook said.

"Illegal fishing is a concern for us, for the environment, and for the law-abiding fishermen who are being cheated."

He said an analysis of reported offences in the green (no-take) and pink (no-entry) zones over the past eight years revealed the trend in illegal fishing activity.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.

It found larger, more mobile species, such as sharks, have been slower to recover but grey reef sharks were 30 times more abundant in protected reefs compared with fished reefs.

Dr McCook said there were also increases in white-tipped and black-tipped shark populations.

One-third of the 344,400sq km marine park is zoned as "no-take".

Professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, delivered the paper in the US yesterday.

Researchers predict that as protected fish inside no-take areas grow larger, they will contribute many more larvae to the whole ecosystem.