Human and environmental gradients predict catch, effort, and species composition in a large Micronesian coral-reef fishery

PloS One
Javier Cuetos-BuenoPeter Houk

Abstract

The consistent supply of fresh fish to commercial markets may mask growing fishing footprints and localized depletions, as fishing expands to deeper/further reefs, smaller fish, and more resilient species. To test this hypothesis, species-based records and fisher interviews were gathered over one year within a large, demand-driven coral-reef fishery in Chuuk, Micronesia. We first assessed catch statistics with respect to high windspeeds and moon phases that are known to constrain both catch and effort. While lower daily catch success was predicted by higher windspeeds and greater lunar illumination, total daily landings fluctuated less than fishing success across environmental gradients. Instead, daily landings were mainly driven by the number of flights from Chuuk to Guam (i.e., international demand). Given that demand masked local drivers of overall catch volume, we further evaluated species-based indicators of fisheries exploitation. Most target species (75%) had either a positively skewed size distribution or proportional contributions that were dependent upon favorable conditions (i.e. season and moon phases). Skewed size distributions indicated truncated growth associated with fishing mortality, and in turn, suggested tha...Continue Reading

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Dec 3, 2016·PloS One·Matthew McLeanPeter Houk

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Citations

May 24, 2021·Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution·Vince FabianSarah Lemer
Jul 14, 2021·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Peter HoukJavier Cuetos-Bueno
Nov 24, 2021·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Louise AndersonMaria Beger

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