Human and environmental gradients predict catch, effort, and species composition in a large Micronesian coral-reef fishery.

ABSTRACT: The consistent supply of fresh fish to commercial markets may mask growing fishing footprints and localized depletions, as fishing expands to deeper/further reefs, smaller fish, and more resilient species. To test this hypothesis, species-based records and fisher interviews were gathered over one year within a large, demand-driven coral-reef fishery in Chuuk, Micronesia. We first assessed catch statistics with respect to high windspeeds and moon phases that are known to constrain both catch and effort. While lower daily catch success was predicted by higher windspeeds and greater lunar illumination, total daily landings fluctuated less than fishing success across environmental gradients. Instead, daily landings were mainly driven by the number of flights from Chuuk to Guam (i.e., internati

SUBMITTER: Cuetos-Bueno J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5979012 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature