Exploitation-related reef fish species richness depletion in the epicenter of marine biodiversity

Abstract

The central Visayan region of the Philippines historically has the highest concentration of coral reef fishes than any other large marine area in the world. This well-supported biogeographic phenomenon is contradicted by recent transect observations on coral reefs that indicates that the Visayan region and the southern Philippine Sea region have the lowest species richness in the Philippines. The Visayan region has unusually low counts of species typically exploited in fisheries and the aquarium trade. This evidence, coupled with numerous reports of intense fishing and habitat degradation and subsequent species declines at local scales suggests that this exploitation is having a cumulative effect on the overall species richness of the Visayan region. Successes in Marine Protected Areas in this region in increasing species richness at local scales suggests that improved management of these protected areas coupled with much more intensive fisheries management will be key to reviving a healthy biodiversity in the Visayas.

Status, trends and challenges in the sustainability of small-scale fisheries in the Philippines: Insights from FISHDA (Fishing Industries' Support in Handling Decisions Application) model

“…Many fishers would be displaced and without alternative options, closing large area of the fishing grounds would result in immediate loss of short-term benefits for fishers which in turn could worsen poverty incidence in the fishing communities that may aggravate problems on food security, health, illiteracy and even crimes. Further, small-scale fishers, due to poverty, may not have the capacity to improve fishing technology to exploit farther "open" fishing grounds which may also be seriously overfished themselves [37]. Previous studies using FISH-BE in major bays in the Philippines also suggested variable but generally very large MPA sizes requirement for sustainable fisheries, e.g.…”

Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) on Fish Behavior Around Anchored FADs: the Case of Tuna Purse Seine and Ringnet Fishers from Southern Philippines

“…Fishers are highly dependent on marine resources in terms of food and income, which led to resource over-exploitation and decline (Bell et al, 2009;Nañola et al, 2011). Some fisheries, such as tuna, have been fished down to its threshold sustainable yields, bordering toward nonsustainability (Juan-Jordá et al, 2011).…”

Community assemblages of commercially important coral reef fishes inside and outside marine protected areas in the Philippines

“…Unfortunately, the coral reefs in the Coral Triangle also happened to be the most threatened coral reefs in the world, particularly from anthropogenic disturbances (Roberts et al, 2002;Nañola et al, 2011;Burke et al, 2012). Overexploitation by tens of millions of heavily resource-dependent coastal populations, the prevalence of destructive fishing practices, the widening poverty and lack of alternative livelihoods in the region, which are further aggravated by climate change stressors, are seriously undermining the future of these valuable ecosystems (Roberts et al, 2002;Green et al, 2003;Halpern et al, 2008;Cabral et al, 2013;Mamauag et al, 2013;Muallil et al, 2014a;Teh et al, 2013;Cinner, 2014).…”

“…Nañola et al (2011) documented a total of more than 700 coral reef associated fish species (205 genera and 52 families) from underwater surveys undertaken from 1991 to 2008 on coral reefs all over the Philippines. Unfortunately, one of the major findings of the study was the apparent local extinction of fishes in heavily populated areas in central Philippines that used to be the center of fish diversity in the country.…”