SYDNEY, OCT 8 – Only 10 percent of fish in coral reefs worldwide are protected by environmental protection, according to a new study published today.
In the study, an international team of researchers led by the University of Sydney and also a global NGO, the Wildlife Conservation Society found that international conservation efforts account for only about 10 percent of the fish biomass in coral reefs at present.
Fish biomass refers to the total weight of all fish.
The team analyzed fish survey data at nearly 2,600 reef locations and compared their biomass estimates with environmental protection.
Joshua Cinner, co-head of research and director Thriving Oceans Research Hub at the University of Sydney, said that improving reef protection would help increase fish supplies around the world and benefit humans.
“Millions of people depend on reef fish for their livelihoods and nutrition. However, excessive fishing threatens the well-being of coastal communities around the world,” he said in a media statement.
“We found that conservation efforts have already contributed to the number of fish in global coral reefs. But on the other hand, this contribution seems quite modest and our study shows how much room there is for improvement,” Cinner said.
According to the study, marine protected areas now cover eight percent of the world’s oceans.
At the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, participants committed to protecting 30 percent of the world’s land, freshwater, coastal and marine areas by 2030.
Cinner said the new study found that increasing the global coverage of fully protected reefs to 30 percent would increase fish stocks on reefs by 28 percent.
The study also said that if fishing restrictions such as banning nets or spearguns were enforced on all reefs, reef fish stocks could increase by another 10.5 percent. – Xinhua
