Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries
Natural refuges can play a fundamental role in protecting species from overexploitation but have not been adequately quantified in the marine environment. We quantified the effect of a depth refuge on all fish species in an artisanal coral reef fishery in Zanzibar, Tanzania by comparing changes in f...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2009
|
| _version_ | 1797078595957424128 |
|---|---|
| author | tyler, E Speight, M Henderson, P Manica, A |
| author_facet | tyler, E Speight, M Henderson, P Manica, A |
| author_sort | tyler, E |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Natural refuges can play a fundamental role in protecting species from overexploitation but have not been adequately quantified in the marine environment. We quantified the effect of a depth refuge on all fish species in an artisanal coral reef fishery in Zanzibar, Tanzania by comparing changes in fish species richness and relative abundance with depth at five fished and three unfished reefs across the region. Commercial species richness was depleted by 15.1% at shallow depths in fished reefs, but there was no difference between the reefs deeper than seven metres. Non-commercial species were not affected by fishing or depth. Evidence for similar patterns in fish communities in other countries and depth-limitations to artisanal fishing methods imply this effect is widespread. The depth refuge effect could be sustaining coral reef fisheries and should be taken in to account before implementing policies or subsidies that encourage or allow fisheries to exploit deeper waters. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:34:06Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:80cc36c2-bda6-439e-9efb-047ebe97acb1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:34:06Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:80cc36c2-bda6-439e-9efb-047ebe97acb12022-03-26T21:25:57ZEvidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheriesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:80cc36c2-bda6-439e-9efb-047ebe97acb1EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009tyler, ESpeight, MHenderson, PManica, ANatural refuges can play a fundamental role in protecting species from overexploitation but have not been adequately quantified in the marine environment. We quantified the effect of a depth refuge on all fish species in an artisanal coral reef fishery in Zanzibar, Tanzania by comparing changes in fish species richness and relative abundance with depth at five fished and three unfished reefs across the region. Commercial species richness was depleted by 15.1% at shallow depths in fished reefs, but there was no difference between the reefs deeper than seven metres. Non-commercial species were not affected by fishing or depth. Evidence for similar patterns in fish communities in other countries and depth-limitations to artisanal fishing methods imply this effect is widespread. The depth refuge effect could be sustaining coral reef fisheries and should be taken in to account before implementing policies or subsidies that encourage or allow fisheries to exploit deeper waters. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | tyler, E Speight, M Henderson, P Manica, A Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title | Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title_full | Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title_fullStr | Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title_short | Evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| title_sort | evidence for a depth refuge effect in artisanal coral reef fisheries |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tylere evidenceforadepthrefugeeffectinartisanalcoralreeffisheries AT speightm evidenceforadepthrefugeeffectinartisanalcoralreeffisheries AT hendersonp evidenceforadepthrefugeeffectinartisanalcoralreeffisheries AT manicaa evidenceforadepthrefugeeffectinartisanalcoralreeffisheries |