Nov
11
Parrotfish Decline Affecting Reefs in Caribbean
November 11, 2007 |
First, I would like to apologize to my readers and fellow bloggers for the recent lack of posts. My class schedule and study routine have made it hard to get out and make time to write, especially cellular biology. That being said, a Nature research piece by marine biologist Peter Mumby, “Thresholds and the Resilience of Caribbean Reefs,” is making waves in the science community.
Snapper and grouper overfishing have turned commercial fishermens’ attention to the parrotfish, a colorful Nemo-like fellow fond of scraping algae from coral with a tough eponymous beak. Post-glut he will then void his meal as sand, producing up to 2000 lbs. of the stuff a year. I have seen these guys when I am out fishing on the bluffs - and they are gorgeous.
Unfortunately, as more Caribbean restaurants choose to serve them because they’re cheaper and more available, many coral reefs are succumbing to seaweed and algae suffocation. Eli, at Adventure Antigua Blog, bemoaned this in September, explaining how guys pick them off indiscriminately or how they get caught as by-catch in traps. Marine biologists are scrambling to find ways to protect them outside of preserves and protected areas, but the bottom line is that there are few to zero conservation policies or laws in place in a lot of Caribbean countries. According to Dr. Mumby’s team, the most dreadful part is that once the reef systems delicate balance is tipped in favor of the algae, there is little it can do to self-repair. It is imperative then to do what we can now to save what is left of an already devastated reef system around Antigua and the rest of the Caribbean.
I contacted Dr. Mumby with some questions via email and he replied that upon his return to the UK he would by happy to provide more specific information and address any concerns we might have. I look particularly forward to hearing Dr. Mumby’s suggestions about what we can do to counter the parrotfish decline and covering this in a future post.
Photograph courtesy of Evan D’Alessandro.
Comments
2 Comments so far
Overfishing and reef conservation has been a growing concern worldwide. I am a diver and I contribute to the establishment of marine sanctuaries in Cebu, Philippines. The idea is to let the sea recuperate from damaging fishing practices and to let the sea heal itself. I also participate in reefcheck, an organization that gathers scientific data of the health of coral reefs all over the world. You can check the site: http://www.reefcheck.org
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