375
11 Management of Spawning Aggregations
aggregations and their value as sources of regeneration of fi sh stocks. (Luckhurst
et al. 2009 ) . Indeed, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries , Sect. 6.8 (FAO 1995 ) , explicitly recognizes the need for
nursery and spawning areas to be protected from the impacts of human activities
that threaten the viability of fi shery resources.
In parts of the Indian and Pacifi c Oceans the switch from barter to a cash economy has stimulated commercial fi shery development. In southeast Asia, growth in
the international trade in live reef fi shes for restaurants in Chinese communities is
increasing pressure on reef fi shes. This trade has expanded the number of countries
from which it sources fi sh in an increasing radius from the main market and trade
centre in Hong Kong, with source countries located well into the western and southern Pacifi c as well as parts of the Indian Ocean (Sadovy et al. 2003 -Fig. 1.2). For live
fi sh fi shers and traders alike, aggregation-fi shing is appealing because it can potentially supply large quantities of reef fi sh at large profi t in a short time period. Several
important live fi sh trade species, such as the camoufl age grouper, Epinephelus
polyphekadion and the squaretail coral grouper, Plectropomus areolatus , can be
taken in large quantities when aggregating to spawn. Customary management measures such as marine tenure, may have reduced pressure on coastal fi sheries in many
parts of the Indo-Pacifi c in the past (Johannes 1982 ) . However, because of technology advances and the move to a cash society, almost half of the known aggregations
are either in decline or can no longer be found and may be functionally extinct
(SCRFA database, www.SCRFA.org ).
Fisheries management has had shifting objectives over time. It has moved from
seeking to manage fi sh stocks for maximum sustainable yield, and avoiding growth
overfi shing for maximum yields, to the more conservative aim of ensuring suffi cient
spawning biomass. There is now a growing emphasis on ensuring suffi cient reproductive capacity to ensure fi sh population persistence. The protection of spawning
biomass is also a major consideration in the design of MPAs; as they are increasingly promoted as a tool for the management of reef-associated fi sheries. This consideration is signifi cant for spawning aggregation protection.
The importance of protecting aggregations cannot be over-emphasized, and there
is a global need to recognize this as a matter of urgency given the already strong
scientifi c basis for management of aggregations in general and the speed with which
they can be depleted. Unfortunately, in many cases, aggregations are discovered and
fi shed before any effort is made to gather appropriate data, resulting in an incomplete understanding by managers of the ecological and economic importance of
aggregations. As a consequence, management actions are typically implemented
too late to prevent overfi shing or extirpation (Sadovy de Mitcheson et al. 2008 ) .
There is a need to promote the mainstreaming of aggregation fi shing into management and conservation planning. The need for precautionary approaches is fundamental given incomplete knowledge and the risk of collapse through hyperstability
(Table 11.1 , Sect. 11.5 ). There are many historic examples of the time that it takes
to fully protect aggregations once discovered, and in many instances, this protection
comes too late.
11 Management of Spawning Aggregations
aggregations and their value as sources of regeneration of fi sh stocks. (Luckhurst
et al. 2009 ) . Indeed, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries , Sect. 6.8 (FAO 1995 ) , explicitly recognizes the need for
nursery and spawning areas to be protected from the impacts of human activities
that threaten the viability of fi shery resources.
In parts of the Indian and Pacifi c Oceans the switch from barter to a cash economy has stimulated commercial fi shery development. In southeast Asia, growth in
the international trade in live reef fi shes for restaurants in Chinese communities is
increasing pressure on reef fi shes. This trade has expanded the number of countries
from which it sources fi sh in an increasing radius from the main market and trade
centre in Hong Kong, with source countries located well into the western and southern Pacifi c as well as parts of the Indian Ocean (Sadovy et al. 2003 -Fig. 1.2). For live
fi sh fi shers and traders alike, aggregation-fi shing is appealing because it can potentially supply large quantities of reef fi sh at large profi t in a short time period. Several
important live fi sh trade species, such as the camoufl age grouper, Epinephelus
polyphekadion and the squaretail coral grouper, Plectropomus areolatus , can be
taken in large quantities when aggregating to spawn. Customary management measures such as marine tenure, may have reduced pressure on coastal fi sheries in many
parts of the Indo-Pacifi c in the past (Johannes 1982 ) . However, because of technology advances and the move to a cash society, almost half of the known aggregations
are either in decline or can no longer be found and may be functionally extinct
(SCRFA database, www.SCRFA.org ).
Fisheries management has had shifting objectives over time. It has moved from
seeking to manage fi sh stocks for maximum sustainable yield, and avoiding growth
overfi shing for maximum yields, to the more conservative aim of ensuring suffi cient
spawning biomass. There is now a growing emphasis on ensuring suffi cient reproductive capacity to ensure fi sh population persistence. The protection of spawning
biomass is also a major consideration in the design of MPAs; as they are increasingly promoted as a tool for the management of reef-associated fi sheries. This consideration is signifi cant for spawning aggregation protection.
The importance of protecting aggregations cannot be over-emphasized, and there
is a global need to recognize this as a matter of urgency given the already strong
scientifi c basis for management of aggregations in general and the speed with which
they can be depleted. Unfortunately, in many cases, aggregations are discovered and
fi shed before any effort is made to gather appropriate data, resulting in an incomplete understanding by managers of the ecological and economic importance of
aggregations. As a consequence, management actions are typically implemented
too late to prevent overfi shing or extirpation (Sadovy de Mitcheson et al. 2008 ) .
There is a need to promote the mainstreaming of aggregation fi shing into management and conservation planning. The need for precautionary approaches is fundamental given incomplete knowledge and the risk of collapse through hyperstability
(Table 11.1 , Sect. 11.5 ). There are many historic examples of the time that it takes
to fully protect aggregations once discovered, and in many instances, this protection
comes too late.