Volume 58

The Assessment and Management of Caribbean Coral Reef Fisheries


Authors
Munro, J.L.
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Date: November, 2005


Pages: 12-Jan


Event: Proceedings of the Fifty Eighth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: San Andres


Country: Colombia

Abstract

Caribbean coral reef fisheries are distinctive because of the extensive use of traps, which catch most species of fish and invertebrates. Small mesh sizes mean that most species with deep bodies are subjected to severe overfishing. Current evidence strongly suggests that reef fish are structured as meta-populations. However, connectivity between reef systems is low and recruitment overfishing impacts mostly on local stocks. Although the assessment of multi-species stocks is not a simple task there is a huge amount of information available about the biology and fisheries characteristics of the important species. This is certainly sufficient for making reasoned management decisions. However, most fisheries in the region are not managed. The enormous cumulative costs of nonmanagement should be widely publicised.

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