Coral Pays the Price for Subsistence Fishing

Idyllic scenes of Pacific islanders using traditional spears to fish from coral reefs disguise "disastrous environmental consequences", according to a 12-year academic study.

For the first time, marine scientists have put small-scale fishing in the developing world on a par for damage with large commercial operations. Research by Newcastle upon Tyne and Oxford universities, published today, shows subsistence fishers in small boats are creating unexpected havoc to reefs in Fiji.

Swaths of coral are dying and being replaced by algae on 13 islands because the local catch includes the main fish predators of coral's great enemy, the crown of thorns starfish.

Nick Polunin of Newcastle's school of marine sciences and technology, said: "Something fundamental is going on, with major implications for international marine conservation."

Logging of the starfish population on the Fijian islands shows numbers "rocketing" from 10 per kilometre of reef to hundreds of thousands after a year of relatively heavy subsistence fishing. The local population of triggerfish and wrasse, the crown-of-thorns' main predators, declined by two-thirds, and the area of algae replacing coral increased by a third.

"Marine scientists previously thought that the diverse ecosystems of coral reefs would be relatively resilient to impacts of predator removal," said Dr Polunin. "This study suggests even low levels of fishing may cause ecosystem meltdown."

The findings are published in the journal Ecology Letters. The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.