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Raiding the Coral Nurseries
CORAL COLLECTING - A BITTER HARVEST
CQUniversity coral researcher Dr Alison Jones advocates a shift away from wild harvest of corals on the Great Barrier Reef towards aquaculture of corals for domestic aquaria, to avoid the risk of local extinctions of relatively rare corals that are favoured by America's aquarium trade.
Dr Jones' Raiding the Coral Nurseries? article in the journal diversity has already sparked interest in the general media, as it reveals a shift in the pattern of commercial harvest in the Keppel Island region http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/3/3/466/. Data from the annual status reports from the Queensland Coral Fishery were compared with export trade data to the US from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). "Evidence was found of recent increases in the harvest of species from the Mussidae family ... which appears to be largely driven by demand from the US," Dr Jones said.
"On
present trends, the industry runs the risk of localised depletion of
Blastomussa. Dr Jones' study found that no Blastomussa were collected
in this region in 2009 whereas there was an increase in the demand for
these from the US. Collectors are unlikely to stop collecting a
particular species that they can sell or export unless they can’t
find it anymore.”"Considering their relatively high sediment tolerance compared to other reef-building species, and the current lack of information about their functional role in reef stability, the trend raises concerns about the impact of the harvest of large polyp species on local coral populations.”
"The recent shift in harvest patterns could have impacts on slow-growing species by allowing harvest beyond the rate of population regeneration.
"In light of these factors, combined with the value of such species to local tourism, a commercial coral fishery based on uncommon but highly sought-after species may not be ecologically sustainable or economically viable in the Keppels."
Dr Jones acknowledges there is now an improved framework for assessing vulnerability, but notes: "the historical data had limited species-specific resolution, many corals are still not reported to species level and the current two-year timeframe between actual catch and management review of the reference points is too long for meaningful intervention to occur. The much touted Stewardship Action Plan devised by the industry’s peak body ProVision Reef (PVR) is not much more than a greenwash. It is a voluntary, self-regulatory plan that advises the shift of harvest effort from damaged reefs to surviving reefs following disturbance such as bleaching. Collectors must be signatories to ProVision Reef which was masterminded and run by Cairns Marine, a Cairns based marine collecting business. Not all collectors are members of PVR and even if they are, the only enforcement of the plan is reporting to an ‘independent’ chair who is currently the CEO of Cairns Marine” said Dr Jones.
She
says the area of reef targeted by collectors in the Keppels is small
and isolated from the influence of other reef systems and there is a
risk current monitoring will not identify localised depletions of low
abundance species. Roaming licenses mean that there is no pre and post
collecting data available to really see whether the practice is
damaging populations of these rare species or not."In addition, most enforcement agents are not trained in the identification of species of corals and fisheries data is assessed on reef-wide rather than local or regional scales, which makes species-specific triggers for localised depletion ridiculous."
Dr Jones says her study suggests the past management regime is no longer appropriate given the significant changes in market demand, now focused on vibrantly coloured stony corals with large polyps.
"Without an effective, locally relevant monitoring and management regime there is a risk that continued harvest levels may eventually cause local and even regional extinctions without triggering a management response. Losing even a single coral species is not worth the risk and jeopardises our reputation for sustainably managing the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef in the eyes of the whole world."
See also - Raiding the Coral Nurseries Diversity 2011, 3, 466-482
and - A Bitter Harvest - Sunday Mail 28 Aug 2011